Arashu's Angel
by Miki Mechetta
Summary: It takes more than science to perform a miracle and only the divine can bring a person back to life. As it turns out, Goddesses are meddlesome creatures. [Warning: Major Cannon Divergence lies within]
1. Prologue

_Siha._

Commander Kalissa Shepard rolled the word over in her mind as the elevator made the long, upward climb to her personal quarters.

_Siha._

How many times had she heard that word in the past few months? Dozens, probably, and yet she never remembered to ask what it meant. It was an oversight on her part. An oversight that she was currently regretting.

An oversight that she could easily remedy.

By the time that the elevator's door hissed open to revel the short corridor that lead to her personal quarters, Kalissa had made her decision: it was time to see if a certain meddler felt like talking.

Determined steps led the Commander from the lift and into her cabin where she immediately sat down at her desk, folding her hands before her face and resting her elbows upon its smooth surface. The position was nearly identical to the one that Thane seemed to favor for his meditations, but that wasn't surprising considering who she was waiting for.

It wasn't a very long wait.

Within moments of her arrival, the soft sounds of her fish tank faded away, the light breeze caused by her cabin's life support systems stopped, and the stars that made up the world beyond her skylight ceased their motions. Time was standing still for the rest of the universe.

As Kalissa studied the now motionless stars outside of the glass window in her cabin's ceiling, her newly arrived visitor asked a simple question: "Do you _truly_ want me to tell you what it means?"

The query made the _Normandy's_ Commander turned around to face her guest and bright-green, human eyes met the sea-green ones of a drell. When that happened, the words that Kalissa had been about to say died on her lips, stolen away by a memory of a deep voice and another set of green, drell eyes.

_Someday, I'll tell you what it means._

He'd promised and she knew that he'd keep that promise. Searching out the answer from another, even the one who'd first given her the title, suddenly seemed like a betrayal of his trust.

She'd wait.

Even as Kalissa whispered the words, "Never mind," she knew that a part of her, the part that always wanted to know everything, was going to regret this.

She'd made her choice, though, and goddesses? They don't let you change your mind.


	2. Kalissa's Choice

The first sense to return was her hearing and the first sound that she heard was the sea.

_The sea?_

Kalissa's spring-green eyes blinked open and she found herself staring up into the bluest sky she'd ever seen. A deep, cerulean abyss that filled her with a sense of calm unlike any she'd ever known.

As she stared up into those blue heavens, Kalissa tried to remember how she'd gotten here, but she couldn't. All that she could remember was a dizzying blur of stars, a sun rising over a planet whose name she couldn't even remember, and the futile sounds of her own gasps as her body screamed out for oxygen that wasn't there.

The painful memory made her lips curl into a frown as her mind filled with worried thoughts of her crew. It was these worries that gave her the motivation to push herself up from the ground and take in her surroundings.

She'd been right about the sea. A vast expanse of dark, blue water stretched out to the horizon on her left and to her right lay… nothing. Nothing but sand. Where was she?

Well, there was only one way to find out the answer to that question and it didn't involve sitting around doing nothing. Thus it was that Kalissa stood up and started walking along the shore.

Her direction was chosen at random and she fully expected that it would take her hours to find even a hint of civilization, yet it seemed as if only a few minutes had passed when a figure appeared in the distance. A motionless statue standing by the shoreline and watching the waves.

The unexpected sight brought a relieved smile to Kalissa's face and she began to hurry towards the figure as she cried out, "Hey there! Can you tell me where I am?"

The figure didn't respond. It didn't even move, but that didn't stop Kalissa from continuing her approach. Maybe the stranger just hadn't heard her?

The closer she got, the clearer it was that this wasn't the case for, no matter how loudly she yelled, the figure didn't move. It was also quite evident that the stranger was of a species that Kalissa had never seen before. Iridescent, blue scales covered what little of its body she could see beneath the dark, deep-sea-blue shroud that it wore over its head, torso, and legs. If it even had legs at all! She really couldn't tell.

Still, it was the only sign of life that she'd seen so far and that meant that she was going to do her damndest to talk to the thing. She just hoped that it wouldn't attack her.

This idle thought made Kalissa reach down to lay a hand on her pistol, as she always did when approaching a potential hostile, and her heart almost stopped when she realized that her gun and holster were missing. The shock was so overwhelming that she forgot all about the strange creature as she finally registered the fact that she was wearing an outfit that she'd never seen before: black slacks and a pretty green blouse that matched her eyes.

The outfit was similar enough to the civvies that she usually wore around her ship, the _Normandy,_ to have escaped her notice due to the shock of waking up on a strange beach, but now that she had, a whole new group of worries sprang up. Where had it come from? Where was her armor? Where was her gun?

The Commander was still processing these thoughts when a gentle, scaled hand rested upon her shoulder, drawing her gaze up to meet that of the shrouded figure.

When her eyes met the creature's, Kalissa let out a startled gasp and took an instinctive step backwards. Its eyes were… wrong. They had no pupils, no life. They were nothing more than bottomless pits of darkness.

A scream started to bubble its way up from deep inside of her throat, but then the creature vanished into thin air and the scream turned into a cry of, "What the hell?"

This cry was met with an amused chuckle and Kalissa whirled around to find another one of the creatures standing behind her. This one was wearing a simple, white dress that left its head and arms bare, revealing scales the light, blue-green color that Kalissa's grandmother had always referred to as "sea-foam." More importantly, this creature's eyes had pupils. Tiny, blue-green ones that were the only points of color in an otherwise black abyss. What sort-of creatures had black scleras? None that she knew of.

Curiosity overcame caution as these thoughts swirled through Kalissa's mind and she found herself asking, "Who, or what, are you?"

The creature smiled softly and then replied, "That depends on who you ask," in a warm voice that reminded Kalissa of her mother.

It wasn't the kind of voice that she'd been expecting, but it still served to calm her nerves a bit and she found herself wondering if this creature was considered female or something else entirely.

"You may consider me female, for I am currently in the guise of a female and my most ardent followers all seem to identify me as such," the creature explained, making Kalissa's eyes widen. She hadn't asked that question out loud, had she?

"No, you didn't, but you were confused and I chose to end that confusion," the alien woman replied, making a chill run down Kalissa's spine as she realized that whatever sort of creature this woman was could read minds.

The Commander was still coming to terms with this fact when the woman decreed, "I will allow you to voice your questions aloud, since that will make you feel better," in a calm tone. A few seconds later, Kalissa realized that her strange companion was replying to the half-formed question that had been taking shape inside of her mind.

In spite of the queasy feeling that realization brought on, Kalissa's first instinct was still to agree to the offer whole-heartedly, but then she thought about it for a moment and her lips began to curl downwards into a small frown. Then she let out a tired sigh and said, "Actually, I don't know if it would since I already know that you're doing it."

"Doing what, reading your mind?" the alien queried in an amused tone that made Kalissa want to roll her eyes. What else could this strange creature possibly think she was talking about? In fact, why should she even bother to answer that? The creature already knew what her reply would be. That thought decided her stance on the matter and so Kalissa folded her arms across her chest and waited for the other woman to speak.

She didn't, though, and it soon became apparent that the alien wasn't actually going to say anything until Kalissa had spoken her answer aloud. That realization made the Commander adopt the annoyed expression that she normally saved for when Joker was being more annoying than amusing as she let out an exasperated sigh and then said, "Yes."

"But I am not."

The unexpected answer left Kalissa feeling even more confused as she uncrossed her arms and said, "You're not?"

"No," the woman replied. "I don't need to, but that is neither here nor there for I am not here for the content of your mind."

"Then why are you here? And where exactly is here, anyway?" Kalissa asked as she gestured towards the sea and gave her strange companion an enquiring look.

Instead of answering the question, the alien woman merely folded her arms across her chest, gazed pointedly at Kalissa, and waited.

At first, this response only served to further annoy the human, but then she considered what the reply meant. Did this strange, alien woman really think that Kalissa knew where they were? That didn't make any sense. All Kalissa knew was that one moment she twirling through space and the next moment she was… _oh_.

A sinking feeling filled the Commander's chest as she looked towards the sea and then back along the shore before finally meeting the stranger's eyes once more. "Am I dead?"

The woman nodded and Kalissa's whole body slumped. Dead. And didn't it just figure that her version of the afterlife would be some weird island whose only other inhabitance were a cryptic mind reader and her creepy... friend? Sister? It occurred to her that she actually had no clue who or what that other creature was and that realization lead her to ask, "Who was that other woman, anyway?"

The stranger smiled again and said, "She is me and she is my lover, my sister, my brother, my friend, and my sworn enemy, depending on which legends you follow."

Kalissa's face had morphed into a mask of pure confusion somewhere between the lover comment and the enemy one, leading her to say, "I'm sorry, but I don't understand," as soon as the woman finished speaking.

Her confusion didn't seem to bother the stranger, though, for the other woman merely nodded her head in agreement and replied, "Nor are you meant to. It is not something that can ever be fully understood by a mortal."

"A mortal?" Kalissa echoed and then she suddenly began to understand who, or more importantly _what_, she was speaking to. She had to be sure, though, so she took a deep breath and then asked, "Wait, if you're not a mortal, what does that make you?"

The woman shrugged and unfolded her arms as she replied, "I have gone by many names. Athame, Itus, Isis, the species that currently makes up the vast majority my most ardent followers knows me as Arashu."

"You're a god," Kalissa whispered as an overwhelming feeling of awe engulfed her, only to be quickly quelled by a wave of concern. She was dead and standing before a god. What exactly did that mean? Had she done something wrong?

This time, Arashu didn't wait for her human companion to speak. Instead, she reached out and gently placed a hand on Kalissa's shoulder, drawing the dazed woman from her silent worries with a gentle statement of, "Do not worry, I am not here to cast judgment upon you. You have more than earned your eternal rest and, should you wish to go to it, you may. I will not stop you."

Kalissa nodded and wet her lips before asking, "Then, why are you here?"

The question seemed to bring a subtle sadness to Arashu's features as she replied, "To make you an offer."

Kalissa didn't know what to say to that, so she simply nodded.

That seemed to be enough, though, because Arashu's immediate response was to remove her hand from Kalissa's shoulder and say, "The offer I make to you is this: I will return you to your body so that you may live anew and continue on with your life. I will not force you onto any path. I will not have you do my bidding. You will be as free to make your own choices as you were before your death.

"Know that this is not an offer than I make lightly or often. You will be the first one in centuries to receive this gift should you choose to accept it."

Silence fell once the goddess had finished speaking and, for the longest time, the only sounds were those of the sea upon the shore. Then Kalissa let out a harsh breath of air and said, "Why?"

"I am sorry, but I cannot tell you. To do so would mean revealing the future to you and that is something that I will not do," Arashu replied and then she turned to look towards the sea as she continued on, saying, "I can tell you that it will not be an easy path. There will be pain and suffering beyond any that you've known so far, should you choose to follow it. I can also tell you that I am making you this offer for a reason. A reason that will become clear to you with time and you will know it fully before the end."

Kalissa nodded and then a small smile wormed itself onto her face as she asked, "Don't you already know what my answer will be, though? I mean, why bother asking if…"

"I know what you choice is," Arashu agreed, cutting Kalissa off mid-sentence. "You will go back. You made that choice the moment that I made the offer. You worry for your crew, your family, and your people. You know that the threat of the reapers looms ever closer and, if there is a chance that you can help them, you will take it."

It took the human woman a moment to fully process the goddess' reply, but when she had, Kalissa asked, "If you already know my answer, then why bother asking?"

The question made Arashu smile as she turned back to face Kalissa and replied, "Because it is still your choice. The simple fact that I know what that choice will be does not change the fact that it is still yours to make."

That made sense, in a strange way, and Kalissa found herself nodding for some reason as she said, "Then I guess I'm going back."

As soon as these words passed through her lips, Kalissa's whole world exploded in pain and her mouth opened wide in a silent cry of agony. Tears started to stain her face as she fell down onto the sand covered ground and stared up at the goddess, silently begging for relief, but none came. Instead, the peaceful world around her blurred into a swirl of colors, only to be replaced by what looked like a lab as unfamiliar voices filled her ears.

_"There, on the monitor, something's wrong"_

_"She's reacting to outside stimuli! Showing awareness of her surroundings."_

_"Oh God, Miranda, I think she's waking up."_

_"Damn it, Wilson, she's not ready yet! Give her the sedative."_

Kalissa tried to speak, to cry out to the two humans who were standing above her, but no sound escaped her lips. Though she could not speak, she was able to somehow raise her arm towards the dark-haired woman, even though the action sent waves of pain rocketing through her system.

The unfamiliar woman responded immediately, taking Kalissa's hand in hers as she said, "Shepard, don't move. Just lie still. Try to stay calm."

Kalissa couldn't stay calm, there was too much pain for that. Pain so overwhelming that the other two humans' words blurred together into a nonsensical mush as she once more tried to cry out, only to find that the pain was going away, replaced by a darkness that was quickly dragging all of her senses into blissful, painless unconsciousness.

The last thing that Kalissa saw before the darkness consumed her was the face of the unknown woman looking down at her and the last thought that crossed her mind was, _what the hell have I gotten myself into this time?_


	3. Waking Up

"Wake up, Commander."

That voice… She knew that voice… Kalissa was trying to remember where she'd heard it before, who it belong to, when the ground suddenly rocked beneath her, dragging her fully into consciousness as the voice spoke once more, saying, "Shepard, do you hear me? Get out of that bed now! This facility is under attack."

The words made Kalissa groan and then her eyes shot open when the action sent ripples of pain spreading across her face. As the pain faded to dull ache, she reached up to brush a hand along her jaw and found bizarrely smooth skin marked with unfamiliar scars. As she tried to make sense of this information, the voice called out again. "Shepard, I know that you're not fully healed yet, but I need you to get moving. This facility is under attack!"

While the voice said these words, Kalissa forced herself to sit up, wincing softly when a light blossom of pain bloomed in her side. Then she noticed the fire and laser burst flying back and forth outside of the room that she was in and her eyes widened. Well, the voice hadn't been lying. This facility was _definitely_ under attack.

"Damn it," the voice swore, making Kalissa glance up at the ceiling as it continued on, saying, "I'm sorry, Shepard, but they just took out the visual monitoring systems. I know that you don't know where you are, but I'm afraid that I'm not going to be of much help anymore. This place is crawling with mechs and..."

The voice suddenly cut off and Kalissa wondered if those mechs had taken out the person who the voice belonged to. That worry was quickly assuaged when the voice began to speak again mere moments later. "You're going to have to fight your way through the mechs to get to the shuttle port. I've locked the doors that lead to the other wings, so all you should have to worry about is surviving. There's a pistol in the room's weapon's locker, grab it and go! I'll do my best to meet you there."

Kalissa didn't wait to hear if the voice would speak again. She was a soldier and she had her orders. Now, where was that weapons locker? Ah, there! Against the far wall.

Her destination located, she pushed herself off of the metal bed and began to move, wincing as a new waves of pain coursed through her with every step. Was there anywhere on her body that didn't hurt? Just what had they done to her?

She was still wondering these things as she pulled the pistol from the locker, loaded it with a thermal clip, and turned around to find Arashu standing behind her.

The goddess looked completely out of place standing in this sterile laboratory amidst the chaos of a hostile attack, but Kalissa still found herself oddly pleased to see her. It was a testament to just how bizarre her life was that a goddess constituted a familiar face.

How did one greet a goddess anyway?

The Commander tried to think of properly respectful words to use, but what she ended up saying was, "I guess this means that you're real."

Arashu smiled and raised an eye ridge as she asked, "Did you doubt that?"

Kalissa considered the question for a moment and then shrugged. "I hadn't really had time to think about it. I don't really have time to talk, either. This place is under attack and I need to get out of here."

She'd begun to move towards the door as she said this, but a quick glance out of the window to see what lay beyond the lab made her stop short. The fighting was still going on out there, but the combatants and laser fire were motionless, suspended mid-fight. It was as if someone had paused reality.

Kalissa was still staring at the fantastic situation occurring beyond the glass when the goddess said, "That will not be a problem. I've frozen time so that we can speak uninterrupted."

"I can see that," Kalissa agreed when she finally found her voice. Then she turned towards the goddess and added, "That's a useful trick."

This time, the goddess' only reply was an all-knowing smile and Kalissa got the distinct impression that smile meant that Arashu was amused.

A few seconds later, Kalissa realized that the goddess was once again waiting for her to speak, so she motioned towards the window and said, "Are you going to keep them paused like that until I reach the shuttle bay?"

"No," Arashu replied. "I am only holding them like this so that you have a chance to catch your breath and gather your wits. You are still going to have to fight your way out."

Kalissa frowned and reached up to scratch her head, which only made her frown deepen as her fingers ran through the soft, silky strands of hair that was far longer than Alliance regulations allowed. She pulled the hair forward to double check and, yes, her auburn locks hung well past her shoulders. Just how long had she been asleep?

She was still fussing with her hair when she looked up at the goddess and found the alien woman studying her with sad eyes. After a moment, Arashu reached out and brushed a hand through Kalissa's hair as she said, "Yes, you have been asleep for quite some time, I'm afraid. Two of earth's years."

By the time that the goddess had finished speaking, Kalissa's hair had somehow formed itself into a secure bun on the top of her head, but the Commander didn't notice. She was too busy trying to keep herself from freaking out as she realized what Arashu's words meant. Two years. She'd been gone for _two years_! What had happened to her crew? Did they all think that she was dead?

As the shocked Commander gazed up at the goddess, she remembered that she _had_ been dead, hadn't she? That thought proved oddly grounding and her freak-out ended with a sigh followed by the words, "You didn't mention the time laps when you offered me the choice to come back."

The goddess nodded and then gave Kalissa a pointed look as she asked, "Would it have changed your decision?"

The Commander didn't even need to think about that one and her reply of, "No." followed mere seconds after Arashu had finished speaking.

"Exactly," the goddess agreed. Then she turned to look out at the frozen fight and continued on, saying, "Now here you are, standing at the beginning of your new life, ready to go into it with guns blazing mere moments after you've awakened. You are truly worthy of my favor, Kalissa, my _siha_."

"Your what?" Kalissa asked, but the goddess had already disappeared and the sounds of fighting had begun anew. That meant that she had to get out of here. She could ask questions later, right now she needed to get to that shuttle bay.

These thoughts drove Kalissa forward, making her hurry out of the lab and down the hallway as the sounds of screaming and laser blasts echoed through the building.

* * *

Several destroyed mechs and a few spent thermal clips later, she found herself running out onto a walkway where a dark-skinned man was crouching down behind a guard rail as a trio of what looked like LOKI mechs fired on him from another walkway on the far side of the room. She quickly took out the left most mech and then rushed over to join the stranger.

Kalissa could see his eyes widening as she approached and the first words out of his mouth were, "Shepard, what are you doing here? I thought that you were still a work in progress?"

The words made her frown as she glanced across the bridge to check for more hostiles and then replied, "I just woke up. You probably know more than I do."

"Right, sorry about that. I'm Jacob Taylor, I've been stationed here for… Damn it!" the man's explanation broke off with a curse as another duo of mechs came marching into the room. He quickly disposed of them with a series of well-aimed shots that spoke of first-class training and then turned back to Kalissa.

"Things must be worse than I thought if Miranda's got you running around. I'll fill you in, but we better get to the shuttles first."

The Commander nodded to show her agreement as she said, "You're the one who knows the layout of this place, Jacob. I'll follow your lead."

The offer made a wide grin split her new companion's face as he motioned towards the other walkway and said, "Alright, first step, let's finish off these metal bastards."

Kalissa grinned back. "I'll go high, you go low?"

The fire in his eyes was all the confirmation that she needed and, soon, the two of them were on their feet, blasting away at the hostile mechs. It felt good to be on the battle field again, side-by-side with another soldier as they took out enemy forces. A task that was over far quicker than Kalissa had expected.

As the last mech fell to the ground, Jacob gave her an appreciative look and said, "Great job, Commander. If you're this good when you've just gotten out of bed, I can't wait to see what you're like when you're at peak performance. Now, ready to get the hell off this station?"

Kalissa nodded and popped a new thermal clip into her pistol as she replied, "Just lead the way."

Once she'd finished speaking, Jacob quickly began to move towards the room's far door as he started to explain his plan of escape, only to be cut off mid-sentence by a voice crying out, "Check. Check. Anyone on this frequency? Anyone still alive out there? Hello?"

The sound of the voice made Jacob stop short and then he reached up to activate his com-link before replying, "Wilson? This is Jacob. I'm here with Commander Shepard. Just took out a wave of mechs over in D wing."

"Shepard's alive?" the voice asked. "How the hell… never mind. You need to get her out of there. Get to the service tunnels and head for the network control room."

"Rodger that, Wilson. Stay on this frequency," Jacob replied before once more heading off towards the room's exit as he motioned for Kalissa to follow him.

She did so, but couldn't help asking, "Who's Wilson?" as they made their way down a hallway light with dim, red lights.

"The chief medical tech for Project Lazarus," Jacob explained and Kalissa could feel a headache beginning to pound at her temple as she quickly made the connection between the lab that she'd woken up in, the fact that she'd been dead, and the project's name. It looked like it'd taken more than a goddess to bring her back.

Still, she had to be sure, and so she asked, "Project Lazarus?"

Jacob nodded. "Yeah, it was the project…"

"To bring me back to life, right?" Kalissa interrupted, making Jacob glanced back at her with a puzzled frown as he opened the door and asked, "How'd you know?"

Her reply of, "Wild guess," was cut short by a blast of laser fire from yet another group of mechs.

As she dove for cover, Kalissa heard Jacob cry out, "Damn it, Wilson, this whole room is crawling with mechs!"

"The whole station is crawling with mechs! I'm doing the best that I can," the other man replied and by then Kalissa was too busy taking out mechs to pay much attention to Jacob's response. Something about finding them another way out?

She did catch Wilson's cry of, "Oh God, they found me. Help!" and the terror in his voice sent a chill down her spine.

Jacob had apparently had a similar reaction because he immediately asked Wilson for his location and then they were once again off, taking down mechs as they headed towards server room B.

When they arrived, they found Wilson crouched down behind a crate, hiding in terror as mechs fired at him from across the room. Jacob took up a defensive position and began to return fire as Kalissa knelt down beside the terrified man who was whimpering about an injured leg.

After a little coaxing, she got him to extend his leg so that she could get good look said injury. When she did, it took a lot of effort to keep from rolling her eyes. The blast had done little more than scratch him.

Wilson didn't seem to agree, though. When she told him to move, his only response was, "Not until someone fixes my leg."

Kalissa had dealt with this kind of person before and her normal response was to just carry the whiner to safety, but that wasn't an option here. There were too many unknowns. As she tried to figure out what to do, she glanced over her shoulder at Jacob to see if he had an opinion, but he was too busy firing at mechs.

Okay then, it was up to her. A quick scan of the room drew her attention to a red box hidden in the shadows on the far wall: a med station. Perfect. Of course it couldn't be on this side of the laser fire. That would be too easy. Well, if it got Wilson moving…

After giving the injured man an annoyed glare, Kalissa ducked down and then ran across the floor as laser blasts flew above her head. When she reached the station, she threw the door open and then grinned at the familiar sight of medi-gel packets. Another quick sprint found her once again at Wilson's side where she hurriedly slathered the man's leg with gel as Jacob took out the last few mechs.

Once the dark-skinned man had declared the room safe, Kalissa stood up and then helped Wilson to his feet as he explained that he'd come here to try to shut down the security mechs.

The injured man's explanation brought a frown to Jacob's face. "We didn't ask what you were doing. Why do you even have security mech clearance? You were in the bio wing."

"Weren't you listening?" Wilson growled. "I came here to try and fix this! Besides, I was shot! How do you explain that?"

Even though she was trusting Wilson less by the second, Kalissa knew that now was not the time to pick a fight and so she stepped between the two men before Jacob could reply and said, "Hey, let's get someplace safe before we start pointing fingers, okay?"

Jacob shot Wilson a nasty look, but then he nodded and said, "Right. We need to find Miranda. We can't leave her behind."

"Forget about Miranda," Wilson griped. "She was over in D wing. The mechs are all over that sector. There's no way she survived."

"A bunch of mechs won't drop Miranda, she's alive," Jacob countered.

"Then where is she?" Wilson exclaimed as a hint of terror entered his voice. "Why haven't we heard from her? Either she's dead or she's a traitor!"

"Or she fought her way out," Kalissa interrupted, drawing their attention to herself. "We came from D wing, too, remember?"

Both men looked ready to start arguing again, but Kalissa pressed on before they could get a word out. "Now, we have no idea where she is and, assuming that Miranda's the woman who woke me up, she told me to get to the shuttles. So we're going to get to the shuttles! Now move it!"

To her relief, the men obeyed and they were soon on their way towards the shuttle bay once more.

* * *

By the time that they reached the shuttle bay's antechamber, Kalissa found herself hopping that she'd never see another LOKI mech as long as she lived and she was more than happy to let Wilson run ahead to type in the door's access code while she and Jacob watched for signs of more mechs.

It only took Wilson a few seconds to type in the code and then he was calling out, "Come on, through here. We're almost at the…"

Then his voice trailed off and Kalissa turned around to see a dark-haired woman with piercing, blue eyes standing in the newly opened door. Now Wilson's voice took on a note of panic as he started to speak again, saying, "Miranda! But you were…"

He never got to finish for the new woman's pale lips suddenly quirked into a frown as she raised her gun and shot him in the chest pointblank.


	4. A Deal with an Illusive Devil

Kalissa stared down at Wilson's body as Jacob shouted, "What the hell, Miranda?"

"Wilson betrayed us. I don't tolerate betrayal," the dark-haired woman replied calmly and Kalissa found that this explanation didn't surprise her in the least. While she didn't approve of the callous way that Miranda had handled the dead man's treachery, the staggering amount of bodies that she'd seen on the way out of the labs meant that she couldn't find it in herself to be upset by Wilson's death.

Thus it was that she merely shrugged, looked up at Miranda, and said, "If you say…"

Her words trailed off as the logo emblazoned on the chest of Miranda's bright, white catsuit caught her eye. Then she glanced back at Jacob and, yes, he was wearing the same logo, though it didn't stand out like Miranda's. It was a logo that she's seen many times over in the months before her death and it had never once graced the uniform of a friend.

"You're with Cerberus."

In spite of the internal whirlwind that her realization had set off, Kalissa spoke these words in a voice devoid of emotion as she raised her pistol and aimed it at Miranda's head. She didn't fire the gun. She simply stood there and waited to see what the blue-eyed woman would do.

Miranda didn't seem frightened by the gun, though. In fact, Kalissa would've sworn that the Cerberus operative actually sounded annoyed when she replied, "Yes, we're with Cerberus. We're also you're only way off of this station, Shepard."

The truth of that statement only served to make Kalissa tighten her grip on her pistol as she said, "I've dealt with Cerberus in the past. Back then, they were trying to kill me. I think I'd rather take my chances with the mechs."

Jacob had remained motionless and silent throughout this brief exchange, but now he finally spoke up, saying, "Things change, Shepard. It's been two years. The Alliance declared you dead. They gave up. Cerberus…"

"I _was_ dead," Kalissa interrupted, maintaining an air of calm as she spoke, even though she was fighting down rising waves of panic. _Cerberus_ had brought her back to life? Why? And what about Arashu? Had her encounter with the goddess been nothing more than a dream? None of this made any sense!

It was then that she noticed the change. Most of it was subtle: a sudden lack of noise, Miranda and Jacob going oddly still, the strange tranquility of the air around her. In fact, the only thing that wasn't subtle was the goddess suddenly standing by her side.

As soon as she registered Arashu's arrival, Kalissa whirled to face the goddess and shouted, "What the hell? I thought that _you_ were bringing me back to life, not Cerberus!"

"Cerberus rebuilt your body, yes, but they did not bring you back to life. That would require them to retrieve your immortal soul from beyond the veil and such abilities are beyond their power," Arashu replied calmly, clearly unfazed by Kalissa's anger.

Which, of course, only served to make Kalissa even angrier.

She stared to yell again, intending to say, "So, what, did they make some sort of deal with you?" but the surprisingly scathing look that Arashu gave her drew Kalissa's words up short. She'd never seen the goddess show anything resembling a strong emotion before and now she knew why. Emotions shown on the face of a mortal were nothing compared to emotions shown on the face of a god. This was true displeasure in its purest form.

The glare was gone as fast as it had appeared, replaced by the calm gaze that Arashu normally favored and there was no malice in the goddess' voice as she replied, "I do not make deals with mortals and my involvement is unknown to them."

Kalissa nodded once and then, after taking a moment to collect herself, asked, "So, why?"

The question brought a soft smile to Arashu's lips as she began to explain, saying, "I do not often meddle in the affairs of mortals, even though I am more than capable of such acts. To do so would be to impose my will upon the universe and I ceased to do that long ago, back when I gave over the rule of the mortal veil.

"Sentient life, beings with the ability to choose their own destinies, they rule this plane of existence now, though only by grace. I do still play a part in this grand scheme, though my actions are normally small ones, tiny miracles to give hope to my faithful followers. You are the largest, unasked-for action that I have taken in millennia.

"And now you wish to know why I did it? Why I allowed Cerberus to rebuild you? I didn't. They were already bringing you back. I did not influence their choice to rebuild you in any way. I did not force you to come back, either. That was your choice, though I did facilitate it. In the end, my only action was to offer you a choice.

"Could I have brought you back and given you everything that you needed for the mission that lies ahead of you? Yes, but that would require me to impose my will upon the universe and what is the point of giving you free will if I take it away from you?" It was here that Arashu's explanation drew to halt as she waited for Kalissa to process all of the new information that she'd been given.

It took a while before she did so, but when she had, the auburn-haired human looked into the goddess' eyes and said, "I still don't understand why you gave me that choice, though."

"Nor will you for quite some time, I'm afraid," Arashu replied. "As I told you before, I will not tell you the reason for my offer, because to do so would be to reveal the future to you. I will explain some small part of it to you, though. The general theory behind the offer, if you will.

"I gave you that choice because I knew what bringing you back would do. I know how your story ends for I knew its every page before the universe began. As we stand here speaking, I can see every possible road you could take, every option that you will encounter. I can also see which roads you will choose. I told you once before that I was not reading your mind and that was not a lie. I don't need to. I already know every thought that you will ever think and when you will think it."

A shiver ran down Kalissa's spine as she considered the implication of the goddess' words, but then a small light went on inside of her mind as another realization occurred. "You brought me back because of something I'm going to do."

Arashu smiled briefly and then said, "Indeed. You will affect the universe in a way that no one else can and you will do it of your own free will. Cerberus will give you the things you need to do this task and they will do it of their own free will. Even if this were not the case, I would not have stopped them from trying to bring you back. I simply would not have given you the choice to rejoin your soul to your body."

Kalissa blinked in surprise at this revelation and then hesitantly asked, "Aren't you effecting my choices by telling me all of this, though?"

The goddess' face remained impassive, but there was a twinkle in her eyes when she replied, "You are no longer an average mortal. You are one of my chosen. I will tell you many things that I would not tell to another so that you can make the best choices possible, but I will not make these choices for you. I will not always tell you the things you wish to know or come when you want me by your side for there is a fine line between using you to shape the universe as I see fit and merely equipping you to face the challenges ahead of you."

Kalissa frowned. "How do you figure out where that line falls, though?"

Instead of replying, the goddess simply raised an eye-ridge and, suddenly, Kalissa was standing with her gun aimed at Miranda's head once more while an amused voice whispered, "Because I am a goddess, my siha," in her ear.

Then the world unfroze and Kalissa was right back where she'd left off, trying to decide what to do with the Cerberus operatives standing before her.

What had original seemed like a terrifying situation had been replaced by an easy choice for Arashu's words had struck a chord with her. What harm was there in at least hearing what Cerberus had to say? They had brought her back to life, after all.

That didn't change the fact that she still had to think of a way out of this awkward situation without seeming crazy, though. What had Jacob said right before Arashu's interruption? Ah, right, something about the Alliance giving up while Cerberus hadn't. Well, she could work with that.

Her plan made, she glanced over at Jacob, forced her lips into something resembling a smirk, and said, "I take your point, though," as she lowered her pistol.

Both of the operatives looked surprised by her seemly sudden change of heart, but Kalissa pressed on, saying, "and I doubt that you brought me back just to kill me. Now, come on, I've had enough of this station to last me a life time," as she pushed past Miranda and headed towards the waiting shuttle.

The dark-haired woman seemed to have gotten over her surprise, because she quickly replied, "Or two, in your case," and followed Kalissa into the shuttle bay with Jacob trailing close behind.

As they approached the waiting spacecraft, a familiar voice came crackling out of the ship's com-system. "Hey, Miranda, we're within flight distance. Did you find the Commander?"

The sound of that voice was the best thing that Kalissa had heard since she woke up and she didn't even think before running over to the shuttle and crying, "Joker? Is that you?" over the com-link.

Her old friend's joyful sounding reply of, "Hell yeah it is! Sorry that it took a while for me to get here, but it's your fault for starting the party without me," was music to her ears and a wide grin spread across her face as she retorted, "I didn't start the party, but I did finish it."

Joker let out a short bark of laughter and then said, "You always were a kill-joy, Commander," which only made Kalissa's smile grow wider. If Joker was here, that meant that at least some of her old crew had made it out alive. It also meant that Cerberus' mission had to be something big. While Joker had never had the galaxy's strongest moral compass, she just couldn't picture him joining up with a bloody terrorist cell. At least, not without a good reason.

Miranda has reached the shuttle at this point and she took over the communications with a crisp statement of, "We're getting on the shuttle now and we'll be at the pickup location in 5 minutes."

"Yes ma'am," Joker replied and Kalissa could just picture the annoyed look that he was undoubtedly wearing as he said those words. Joker hated formally acknowledging those who outranked him, especially when he was in the pilot's seat of a ship as he undoubtedly was right now.

That realization stole her smile, replacing it was a puzzled frown as she climbed into the shuttle and took a seat beside Miranda while Jacob hopped into the driver's seat. As the dark-skinned man piloted the ship out of the station's shuttle bay and into the vast expanse of the cosmos, Kalissa turned to Miranda and asked, "Why did Cerberus recruit Joker?"

"Because he's one of the best human pilots in the galaxy. He also has the most experience piloting this type of ship, though that's not saying much since he's the _only_ one with any experience," Miranda replied, using a tone of voice that made it absolutely clear that she wasn't happy with Joker's recruitment.

Kalissa didn't care about the blue-eyed woman's tone, though, she was too focused on the words. "The _second_ of its class?"

Miranda nodded tersely as Jacob called back, "You can come up here and see her if you'd like to, Commander."

Kalissa did just that and what she saw took her breath away. A ship was approaching, but not just any ship, her ship, the _Normandy_. She was just as beautiful as she'd always been, even if she had a Cerberus logo emblazoned on her hull.

Joker had apparently been listening in on the conversation, or maybe he just had good timing, because his voice suddenly came over the shuttle's speakers. "Welcome home, Commander."

She didn't reply. Instead, she turned to look back towards Miranda and said, "You salvaged her?"

"No," the other woman replied. "The _Normandy SR-1_ remains at its crash sight. This is the SR-2. It was redesigned by Cerberus's top scientists specifically for this mission."

Kalissa raised an eyebrow. "And that mission is?"

Miranda smirked, folded her arms across her lap, and leaned back in her seat as she said, "It's not my place to tell you. My boss will explain everything to you via vid-com once we get onto the ship."

Kalissa nodded and then returned her gaze to the approaching vessel, drinking in the welcome sight. She didn't stop staring until they were docked inside and her first inclination upon stepping out of the shuttle was to run up to the cockpit and hug Joker until he made her stop, but Miranda had other plans. Before Kalissa had even had a chance to take in the new shuttle bay, the blue-eyed woman was motioning towards the ship's elevator as she asked, "Shall we head to the conference room, Shepard? My boss is waiting for us."

"Of course," Kalissa replied as she remembered that this wasn't her ship, this was a Cerberus vessel. Best not to get too attached to it before she knew what was going on and to find that out, she apparently had to go talk to Miranda's "boss."

That thought prompted her to ask, "Do I at least get to know this mysterious boss' name?" as she, Jacob, and Miranda began to walk towards the elevator.

"No," Miranda replied, "and you probably never will. His true identity is classified, but you may call him 'The Illusive Man.'"

"The Illusive Man?" Kalissa inquired, echoing the dark-haired woman's words in a confused tone as the three of them stepped into the elevator, but Miranda didn't reply. She was too busy keying something into the elevator's control panel and so Jacob took over the explanation, saying, "It was an Alliance nickname that just sort-of stuck," as the elevator rocketed upwards.

He gave this explanation with a grin that Kalissa didn't return. She wasn't ready to play nice with these people, not yet. Not until she'd met this 'Illusive Man' and learned why he'd brought her back to life.

* * *

The walk from the elevator to the conference room was brief, but Kalissa still managed to get a good look at the new _Normandy's_ CIC and armory, where they left Jacob, before heading into the conference room with Miranda at her side. All of the new rooms were impressive upgrades from the SR-1, but still managed to feel familiar. She was busily wondering what else had changed when Miranda told Joker to patch the Illusive Man through.

Within moments, a holographic projection began, transforming the room into a dark plain that overlooked the fiery, red mass of a dying star. The only occupant of this otherworldly place was sitting in what looked like an expensive, leather chair with a cigarette clasped between the fingers of his left hand. This unfamiliar man with graying hair and strange, glowing, blue eyes gave Kalissa a quick once over before greeting her with two words: "Commander Shepard."

"Illusive Man," she replied, folding her arms across her chest as she did so.

He let out a light "hmm" and then glanced over Kalissa's shoulder at Miranda as he said, "I see that Miranda's already briefed you."

"Only on the basics, sir," Miranda interjected quickly. "She knows nothing of the mission."

The Illusive Man took a deep drag of his cigarette as his lips twisted into a smirk. Then he blew out a ring of smoke and said, "I doubt that. If Project Lazarus was a success, then the Commander should know exactly who we've brought her back to fight."

"The reapers," Kalissa replied and there was no question in her voice when she did so.

It was clear that she was correct, too, because the Illusive Man's only response was, "Good to see your memory's still intact."

Then silence fell between them and Kalissa realized that he was waiting for her to make her "move" in some ridiculous game of power. She hated those kinds of games and she wasn't going to play this one, so she glared into the smirking man's glowing eyes and said, "Cut to the chase. What are the reapers doing that made you decide to bring me back?"

He studied her for a moment as he took another drag from his cigarette, then he ground it out in the chair's ashtray as he explained, "We're at war, Shepard. No one wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack. While you've been sleeping, entire colonies have been disappearing. Human colonies. We believe that the perpetrators of these abduction are working for the reapers, just as Saren aided Sovereign. They need to be dealt with and Cerberus believes in assigning the best person for the job. In this case, that was you."

"So you desecrated my grave and brought me back to life?" Kalissa asked, her voice coming out harsh and tinged with anger.

The Illusive Man just smiled at her and said, "Cerberus isn't as evil as you believe, Shepard. You and I are on the same side, we just have different methods."

"Yeah, I'll say," Kalissa agreed, then she sighed and added, "What do you know about the abductions so far?"

The Illusive Man's smile faded as he brought up a video feed while saying, "This is video from the latest colony to be abducted: Freedom's Progress. Normally there isn't anyone left behind in these abductions, but this time there was a survivor. A quarian named Vitor who somehow managed to capture what happened there."

Kalissa stared at the images playing out on the holographic screens before her, watching in horror as strange, bug-like creatures stole frozen colonists from their homes. She was still staring at the feeds when Miranda let out a cry of, "My God, it's a collector! That confirms out suspicions, sir."

The unexpected exclamation made Kalissa turn around to give the other woman a searching look, but Miranda just shrugged and said, "We had several theories about who was behind the abductions. All of the most popular ones involved the collectors."

Kalissa nodded and then turned back to look at this Illusive Man as she said, "I've heard of the collectors, but I thought that they usually work through intermediaries, like slavers or hired merchs? What are they doing abducting colonists and why do you think that the reapers are involved?"

"That's what you're going to help us find out," he explained. "We're certain that the reapers are in on this, the patterns are there, buried in the data, but the collectors are enigmatic at best and our knowledge of them is limited. What we do know is this: they periodically travel to the Terminus Systems looking to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens, usually in exchange for their technology. When their transactions are complete, they disappear as quickly as they arrived, back beyond the unmapped Omega-4 relay."

Even though she had a feeling that she already knew the answer, Kalissa asked, "Why aren't the Council or the Alliance involved?"

Miranda let out a scoff as the Illusive Man gave Kalissa a pointed look and replied, "The Council and the Alliance want to believe that the reaper threat died with Sovereign. You and I know better. We can't wait until the reapers are on the march. We need to take the fight to them."

Kalissa shifted her stance and stared into the Illusive Man's eyes for a moment of silence before saying, "You want me to lead the charge, don't you?"

He smiled. "I've already compiled a list of potential candidates and singled out those who we believe are the best. You'll get dossiers on them. Finding them and convincing them to work with you could be a challenge, but you're a natural leader. I'll continue to track the collectors. When they make their next appearance, I'll notify you. Be ready."

"You seemed to be assuming that my answer is yes," Kalissa countered. "Is this a volunteer job, or am I being volunteered?"

The Illusive Man's smile warped into a smirk. "You have a choice, Shepard. You always have a choice, but I don't hear you saying 'no.'"

His tone made Kalissa's hands tightened into fists, but she couldn't deny what he'd said. As soon as she'd heard the details of the mission, she'd been in. There was no way that she was letting those colonists fall into reapers hands. After taking a deep breath, she nodded and said, "…I'll look at your list, but I'd want my own people on this, too. People who I trust, the people who helped me defeat Saren."

The Illusive Man shifted in his seat and then replied, "That was two years ago, Shepard. Most of them have moved on or their allegiances have changed."

The implications of his words made Kalissa smile thinly, but her tone was calm when she said, "We'll see about that. You worry about the collectors, I'll make sure my team's ready."

The Illusive Man made a "hmm" sound and then said, "As you saw in the vids, the collectors are using some form of mechanized insect to freeze people. Vitor got a lot of excellent readings with his Omni tool, but the technology is beyond our scientist understanding. One of the people we've singled out is Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant, salarian scientist. Our intelligence suggests that he may know how to counteract the creature's paralyzing effects."

Kalissa nodded curtly and then asked, "Anything else I should I know?"

The Illusive Man pulled out a new cigarette and began to light it as he replied, "Miranda will be acting as your XO and she can answer any other question you might have."

Then be took a deep drag and added, "I brought you back to life, Shepard. The rest is up to you," before ending the transmission.

As the hologram faded away, Miranda began to speak, but Kalissa cut her off saying, "I just had a lot of information thrown at me, Miranda. Give me a second to process it before you throw even more."

The Cerberus operative didn't look please with being order around, but her only response was a curt, "Of course. My office is on the crew deck and I've already update the ship's bio-signatures to recognize you as the commanding officer, Shepard."

With that, Miranda turned around and left the room, leaving Kalissa to her thoughts.

At least, that was what the dark-haired woman thought that she was doing, but as soon as the doors closed behind her, Arashu appeared.

The goddess didn't say anything, she just stood beside the room's far wall and watched Kalissa with a knowing smile. The Commander returned the alien woman's gaze for a long moment and then sighed as her lips twisted into a mirthless smirk. As few seconds later she softly admitted, "Yeah, you're right. It looks like I do need Cerberus."

The goddess' only reply was a knowing smile as she vanished, leaving Kalissa alone to face the daunting reality of the challenge now laid before her.


	5. A New Ship, A New Crew

Kalissa left the conference room and headed towards the _Normandy's_ CIC by way of ship's laboratory so that she wouldn't have to deal with Jacob. As she walked, she considered the task before her. How did one go about picking a team? Last time, she'd just sort-of stumbled upon them and, before that, she'd always had her team assigned to her by superior officers. She had a pretty good idea how to pick out a combat team, though, so maybe that's where she should start…

As she considered the kind-of people she'd want for ground missions, Kalissa wandered into the CIC and drew to a halt as her eyes fell on a young woman with short-cropped hair standing at one of the CIC's computers. When she thought back, Kalissa realized that the woman had been there when they'd come up to talk with the Illusive Man and Miranda had called her something. Kelsey? No… Kelly, that was it!

Kalissa smirked as she gave herself a mental pat on the back for remembering and that was when Kelly glanced over her shoulder. Within seconds, she was smiling, turning around, and presenting Kalissa with a snappy salute as she said, "Hello Commander Shepard, I'm Yeoman Kelly Chambers and I've been assigned as your administrative assistant."

An administrative assistant? What exactly did that mean?

Kalissa asked as much and Kelly's smile widened as she explained her position. "It's my job to manage your messages and help you monitor the crew, Commander. I'll also keep you informed on any mission-relevant information that Cerberus' people uncover."

Kalissa found herself returning Kelly's smile by the time that the Yeoman had finished her brief speech. "That sounds wonderful, Yeoman. I wish I'd had someone like you on the team back when I was chasing down Saren. Would've made my job a whole lot easier."

The Yeoman giggled lightly and then said, "Please, call me Kelly. I must say, it's an honor to work under you, Commander. Is there anything that I can help you with now? I'm already fully acquainted with the new _Normandy _if you want a tour."

"That's okay, Kelly," Kalissa replied as she started to move towards the _Normandy's_ cockpit. "I'm just heading up to greet our pilot. Once I'm done, I wouldn't mind some help finding Miranda's office, though."

She'd barely taken two steps before Kelly cleared her throat and said, "Forgive me if this is out of line, Commander, but don't you want to change before seeing Joker? Cerberus has stocked your personal cabin with several outfits."

Kalissa halted, glanced down at her outfit, and then turned back to look at Kelly as a sheepish grin spread across her lips. Amidst all of the chaos of the past few hours, Kalissa had failed to register what she was wearing. She'd just talked to the Illusive Man in what appeared to be standard-issue hospital fatigues. What a wonderful way to make a first impression. Why hadn't Miranda warned her? She'd have to have a talk with her new XO.

That talk could wait until she'd changed, though, and so she walked back to Kelly's side as she said, "On second thought, Kelly, why don't you show me how to get to my cabin."

The Yeoman's grinned and nodded before guiding Kalissa to the ship's elevator and explaining how it worked. Then she headed back to her post as Kalissa keyed in the commands that would take her to the top floor which was, apparently, something of a penthouse suit according to Kelly.

The Yeoman hadn't been lying. The captain's cabin was, quite frankly, ridiculous. Especially when compared to the sort-of quarters she'd had back in the Alliance. Why in the world did Cerberus think that she'd want a floor to ceiling fish tank in place of a fourth wall? Not to mention the skylight that they'd installed above her bed, though she had to admit that it made for a lovely view and the fully equipped office space was also a welcomed addition. By the time that Kalissa discovered the mini-lounge area and the leather couches it contained, she'd decided that she might actually like her new cabin.

Once she'd completed her cursory examination of the room, Kalissa's attention turned to the cabin's closet and weapons locker. Soon, she was heading back to the CIC deck dressed in loose, black pants and a comfortable tank top. There'd been a jacket included with this outfit, but the Cerberus symbol sewn onto the chest of said jacket had meant that there was no chance that Kalissa was putting the thing on her body. In fact, most of her provided outfits seemed to have a Cerberus theme. As the elevator doors hissed open to reveal the CIC deck, Kalissa made a mental note to go shopping for some new clothes as soon as possible. Maybe she could order something off of the extranet…

Her thoughts trailed off as she stepped from the elevator and saw Kelly turning around to greet her. An appraising glance later, the Yeoman was grinning broadly and saying, "You look great, Commander."

"Thanks, Kelly," Kalissa replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go give our pilot a hug."

Kelly nodded and turned back to her work station as Kalissa took off down the ship, eager to finally see her favorite pilot.

As she got closer to the cockpit, she could see Joker sitting in the pilot's seat doing whatever it was he did up there. It looked just like the old Normandy, too, with one exception: a strange, glowing, blue orb that was being projected at Joker's left-hand side.

The weird orb wasn't enough to distract her from her target, though, and she quickly advanced towards Joker, hoping to surprise him. It was a futile hope, though, because he'd apparently heard her coming and was already swiveling around in his chair to see who was entering his domain. A goofy grin spread across his face as soon as he saw her and he let out a delighted cry of, "Can you believe this, Commander? It's my baby, better than new! It fits me like a glove! And leather seats! Military may set the hardware standard, but on a first-gen frigate they could care less if the seats breath. Civilian sector? Comfort by design!"

Kalissa grinned back, glad to see that some things never changed. Then the blue orb started flashing and a computerized, female voice said, "The reproduction is not intended to be perfect, Mr. Moreau. Seamless improvements were made."

"And there's the downside," Joker added as his grin morphed into a frown. "I liked the Normandy when she was beautiful _and _quiet. Now she's got this thing… I don't wanna talk about it. It's like ship cancer."

"What is it, a VI?" Kalissa asked as she leaned forward to study the glowing orb.

The moment that she finished her question, it began to flash once more as the computerized voice said, "I am the _Normandy's_ artificial intelligence. The crew like to refer to me as EDI."

Kalissa's good mood evaporated instantly as she pulled back from the orb and turned to stare at Joker.

He gave her a rueful grin and said, "I take it that you didn't know about Cerberus' housewarming gift, Commander?"

"No, I didn't," Kalissa replied, giving the orb the evil eye as she added, "What the hell are they thinking?"

"Search me. As far as I can tell, we're the only ones who don't like it," Joker explained with a shrug.

Kalissa let out a deep breath of air and then folded her arms across her chest as she asked, "Does it run the whole ship?"

"I operate the electronic warfare and cyberwarfare suits during combat. Beyond that, I cannot interface with the ship's systems. I observe, offer analysis, and advise. Nothing more," EDI replied calmly and Kalissa suddenly felt a little twinge of guilt. True, EDI didn't exactly fit her idea of "living creature" and she certainly didn't trust it, but AI's were alive and right now they were being horribly rude.

It was these feelings that prompted her to look over at the AI's orb and say, "Sorry, EDI. I'm not trying to make you feel unwelcome or anything."

"I am an AI, Shepard," EDI replied. "I do not feel emotions as humans do. Right now, you are experiencing a negative reaction to the revelation of an illegal operating system present within your ship. Given your history with AI's and the current reaper threat, this is logical."

"Well, I'm glad that you see it that way," Kalissa said, giving Joker an amused look while he rolled his eyes.

Then he frowned. "I never asked, but we are staying, right?"

"We?" Kalissa echoed as she raised an eyebrow.

Joker nodded. "If you don't take the mission, then I don't pilot the ship. It's in my contract. I'd rather be grounded again than fly for Cerberus' people."

"Grounded?" she asked as her eyes widened.

Joker let out a short, mirthless laugh and then said, "A lot happened in the last two years, Commander. Everything that you stirred up? The Council and the Alliance wanted it gone. Team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded. The Alliance took away the one thing that mattered to me."

One line of his little speech had stuck out to her. "The team? You mean that the others got out?"

"Well, we lost a lot of the crew, but the whole combat team made it out just fine. I guess that all of those months of you dragging them into warzones paid off. I was the only member of the bridge crew to make it out and that was only because you…" Joker's voice trailed off and then he gave her an awkward smiled as he said, "About that, the whole saving me thing, I…"

"Don't worry about it, Joker," Kalissa interrupted. Then she gave him a wink and added, "There's no one that I'd rather get spaced for."

He nodded once and then gave her one of his big grins as he asked, "So we are staying, right? I mean, real leather!"

"Yeah, we're staying, and you think your seat's nice? You should see my cabin," she rejoined with a smirked.

After a few more minutes of playful banter, Kalissa bid Joker adieu and then took off towards the ship's elevator. She was going to have a little talk about the god-damn AI that they'd installed on her ship with a certain catsuit-wearing Cerberus operative.

* * *

A brief conversation with Kelly later, Kalissa found herself down on the _Normandy's_ crew deck, standing before the door to Miranda's office, trying to figure out if there was a way to let Miranda know that she was here. Kelly had said that this room doubled as Miranda's private quarters and just barging in seemed wrong. She really should have thought to ask the Yeoman if this ship had some sort of pager system.

She'd only been standing there for a minute or so when the doors hissed open to reveal Miranda sitting behind a desk in a rather spacious office. Kalissa took this as her cue to enter and did so as Miranda said, "Ah, Shepard. No doubt you've got a lot of questions."

"Yeah, I do," Kalissa agreed as she folded her arms across her chest. "Let's start with this one: why is there an AI on my ship?"

Miranda frowned. "I see you've met EDI, then."

Kalissa nodded and then waited for an explanation, which Miranda soon gave. "We're trying to save the human race, Shepard. We need the best weapons for the task and EDI gives us a tactical advantage. She's an AI, yes, but a shackled one. Only capable of interfacing with certain system."

Kalissa raised an eyebrow and asked, "She? I didn't realize that AI's had genders."

"The voice pattern that Cerberus choose for me is female, Shepard. I do not mind if the crew identifies me as such," EDI replied, making Kalissa jump slightly as she searched for the AI's tell-tale blue sphere, but none appeared.

Her reaction hadn't gone unnoticed by Miranda, who smirked and said, "EDI is wired into the whole ship. She can hear everything, though you're welcome to turn off her access in your personal quarters if that would make you more comfortable."

Kalissa frowned and then waved her hand towards the room's ceiling as she asked, "Is that how you knew that I was outside?"

Miranda nodded. Then she folded her hands, placed them beneath her chin, and leaned forward to rest her elbows against the table as she said, "Is there anything else that I can help you with, or shall we get down to business and go over these dossiers."

While Kalissa still had quite a few questions that she was just itching to ask, she knew that there were far more pressing issues at hand than her own curiosity. Right now, the most important thing was recruiting her team and so she shook her head and took a seat in the room's free chair as she said, "Nothing that can't wait. Let's get started with those dossiers."

Miranda smiled, grabbed a datapad that was lying on her desk, and then handed it to Kalissa. "Cerberus experts have created a list of top candidates for this mission. It's up to you to choose which ones will be recruited, though."

A quick glance at the list of dossiers had Kalissa's eyes widening. "Just how many people do I have to choose from?"

"There are currently 41 potential candidates, excluding Dr. Solus whose recruitment I assumed was a guarantee. His full dossier can be found in the folder marked "yes" on the pad's desktop," Miranda explained as she pulled up a matching list on her own computer.

Kalissa nodded and quickly navigated to the doctor's profile. Best to start out with the candidate that the Illusive Man had said was essential. As she scanned the opening page of the dossier, Kalissa asked, "Why does Cerberus want us to pick up a _salarian_, anyway? I thought this was a human's only club."

"Cerberus doesn't hate aliens, Shepard. We just place human interests above those of other species," Miranda replied with just a hint of annoyance in her tone and Kalissa got the feeling that this was something that the operative had to say quite often.

That didn't stop her from asking a follow-up question of, "And you aren't against using what other species have to offer to keep humans safe, right?"

"Exactly," Miranda agreed with a cool smile that sent a shiver up Kalissa's back.

Then the two women fell silent as Kalissa continued to read the dossier until she reached the part that spoke of Mordin Solus' current location. "What's a scientist of his caliber doing on Omega?"

Miranda's reply of, "Dr. Solus runs a clinic in the station's slums," didn't sever to answer her question and Kalissa gave the other woman and annoyed frown as she said, "Yeah, I can see that, but why?"

Miranda shrugged. "You'd have to ask him."

"Okay," Kalissa sighed as she navigated back to the list of potentials and asked, "well, what about the other candidates? Anyone else on Omega or the nearby planets?"

Miranda nodded. "There are four other potentials whose current or last known location was on or nearby Omega: Zaeed Massani, Salini Var, Anai Ledvidus, and Archangel, a local vigilante whose real name is unknown."

Kalissa navigated to the first of the four relevant profiles as she asked, "Any recommendation, XO?"

"Out of those four or out of the whole list?" Miranda inquired, sounding mildly surprised that Kalissa was asking for her input.

After a moment's consideration, Kalissa shrugged and said, "Either, really."

Miranda smiled and glanced over the identical list on her computer screen once before saying, "Ms. Goto would be my first priority after Dr. Solus."

Kalissa navigated to the profile and then shot Miranda a disbelieving look. "A thief?"

"We're trying to save the human race. We need the best people for the job, not the most morally inclined," Miranda retorted and Kalissa got the feeling that she was going to be hearing that line a lot.

It didn't change her opinion on the thief, though, and she told Miranda as much. The Cerberus operative merely shrugged and said, "It is your choice, of course. As for the four potentials from Omega, Var and Ledvidus seem like nothing more than thugs to me, hardly worth the effort to find them when I doubt that they'll willingly join us. Massani will work for anyone for the right price and Cerberus is willing to pay his. Archangel is an unknown, though he does appear to be the kind-of person who'd want to save the galaxy."

Kalissa nodded, then she looked up at Miranda and asked, "What about my old crew? I don't see any of them on here."

The question made the operative sigh. "We choose the best from those who were available, Shepard. You're old crew isn't."

Kalissa scoffed. "None of them? I mean, I get why Ashely wouldn't be available, she'd Alliance, and Tali's probably back with the Flotilla, but Wex? Garrus? Liara? They're…"

"Not available," Miranda interrupted. "It's been two years, Shepard."

"You know, everyone keeps saying that like it means something. Two years doesn't changed what happened between us and my crew was as loyal as they come. If they knew that I was taking down the reapers, they'd wanna be right there with me."

Kalissa finished this statement with a glare and then rose from her seat as she added, "I'm gonna go tell Joker to head for Omega. You tell your Cerberus people to get me some new dossiers. I wanna know what's going on with all of my crew and then _I'll_ be the one to decide whether or not they're 'available.'"

Miranda scowled right back. "You know, the Illusive Man is taking an incredible risk with you. I just hope his gambit pays off."

Kalissa had been heading for the door, but Miranda's words made her stop short. She turned around to stare at the other woman. "You don't think that I can do this?"

"I have the upmost respect for your abilities, Shepard," Miranda replied. "It's your motivations that concern me. I believe in what Cerberus stands for. Only time will tell if you prove to be an asset or a liability to our cause."

Kalissa didn't know what to say to that, so she just gave Miranda another glare and then headed out the door.


	6. Allies Both Old And New

It took the _Normandy_ a little over four days to get to Omega and, in that time, Kalissa learned both the layout of her new ship and bio of every person that Cerberus had singled out as a potential crewmember. It was an eclectic group and she had no idea how she was going to go about picking out which ones to add to her team. A lot of them were the kind of people she'd avoid under normal circumstances – mercs, hackers, thieves, even an assassin – but these weren't normal circumstances, as Miranda seemed fond of reminding her.

She also learned that she was far from fully recovered. The initial adrenalin rush of waking up in a warzone had worn out shortly after her meeting with the blue-eyed Cerberus operative and she'd collapsed into her bed soon after where she ended up sleeping for almost 16 hours. Upon waking, she'd immediately gone down to the ship's medbay for a checkup where she discovered another familiar face: Dr. Chakwas, the _Normandy SR-1's_ doctor.

After a quick but joyful reunion, the good doctor had informed Kalissa that her body was still adapting to the staggering amount of tech that Cerberus had placed within it to bring her back to life. Even her old L2 biotic implant had been replaced with a shiny new L5x.

"So I'm a cyborg?"

"You could say that, but you're really only about 30% tech and most of that is just structural improvements. Titanium bones, cybernetic eyes, things that couldn't be easily regrown during the rejuvenation process. Most of your muscles and organs are in their natural form without technological enhancements."

It hadn't been a welcome piece of information, but she'd accepted it and moved on. It wasn't like there was anything that she could do about it anyway.

Now, here she was, getting ready to venture out into the den of scum and villainy that was the Omega Space Station with her brilliant XO at her side.

"I'm not wearing that."

Kalissa sighed and thrust the outfit into Miranda's arms. "If you want to come with me to meet this Zaeed guy, then you can't wear your jump suit. You're a walking poster child for Cerberus right now and white doesn't exactly blend in on a place like this."

The dark-haired woman frowned and held up the outfit that Kalissa had given her. Then she placed it on her desk and walked back into her personal quarters. A few minutes later, she returned wearing a dark-blue version of her usual catsuit that was devoid of the white version's Cerberus logo. "Will this do?"

Kalissa studied the look for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. Ready to go, then?"

Miranda smiled icily and motioned to her office's door. "After you, Shepard."

They made their way through the ship quickly, only stopping briefly in the armory to grab a few weapon's from Jacob who looked more than a little annoyed that he was being left behind, but Kalissa didn't want to draw attention to their group. The smaller the better.

When they reached the ship's airlock, Kalissa flicked on her latest gadget, a shimmer mask that one of her engineers had rigged up for her. As the tingling feeling of a holographic field encircled her head, Kalissa turned to Miranda and asked, "Is it working?"

The dark-haired woman frowned. "Well, you don't look like Commander Shepard anymore, but it's not going to fool a good security system or even anyone with a decent visor. Those things usually have detection programs for masks and that's far from the most sophisticated model available."

"As long as it fools most of the population, then we're golden," Kalissa explained as she hit the button to open the airlock. "I'll see about getting the parts for a better one when we stop somewhere that sells more than scrap."

Miranda gave a light hum of approval and then the two women headed out into the station proper. They hadn't gone more than a few meters when a salarian came rushing over to them as he let out a cry of, "Ah, welcome to Omega. You're new here, aren't you? I can always tell. Allow me to…"

The salarian's voice trailed off as a mean looking batarian approached their little group. Then he forced a smile onto his face and said, "Oh, hello Moklan, I was just…"

"Leave, Fargut. Now," the batarian interrupted and Kalissa watched as the salarian did just that. Then the batarian, whose name was apparently Moklan, turned back to her and said, "Blasted scavengers. Welcome to Omega… Shepard."

"You know who I am?" she asked, but it was more of an instinctive reaction than a real question. She'd assumed that the station's queen, the infamous Aria T'Loak, would know who she was and that she was there within minutes of her arrival. This batarian was probably one of her lackeys.

That suspicion was confirmed when then batarian replied, "Of course. We had you tagged the moment you entered the Terminus Systems. You're not as subtle as you think. Aria wants to know what brings a dead Specter to Omega. I suggest you go to afterlife and present yourself."

Then he was gone, stalking back down the corridor towards the sounds of pumping bass and drunken laughter.

When she was sure that he was out of hearing distance, Kalissa turned to Miranda and said, "A person invitation to her club? The queen honors us. I hope you feel like dancing."

Miranda didn't reply, she was too busy scanning the corridor. After a moment, she frowned and said, "Mr. Massani was supposed to be here waiting for us."

"Zaeed will do just fine, sweetheart. Mr. Massani makes me sound like a god damn information broker."

Both women turned towards the voice's origin and found a well-scarred, human male in beat-up, yellow armor marching down the corridor towards them. As he approached, he continued on, saying, "I take it you're Commander Shepard? I hear we have a galaxy to save."

Kalissa nodded and flicked off the shimmer mask so that he could see her true face. Ribbing Miranda could wait, it was time to get down to business. "How much do you know? I don't want you backing out mid-mission."

"I've done my homework," he replied. "Cerberus sent me everything I needed."

"And you're still willing to sign on?" she inquired with raised brows. When she'd told Miranda to see if Zaeed was willing to join up, she'd expected the merc to say "no" as soon as he heard what they were doing. Apparently she'd been wrong.

"Cerberus is paying me a lot of money to help you on your mission. That's the long and short. It doesn't sound like good business but… your 'Illusive Man' can move a lot of credits," Zaeed explained and Kalissa held back a sigh.

Money. Of course. She reached out and shook the mercs hand before telling him to head back to the _Normandy_ and make himself comfortable while she went to meet Aria.

As he headed off in the direction of her ship, Kalissa said a silent prayer to Arashu that Zaeed's sense of honor would keep him from deserting when things got tough. It wasn't the first time that she'd petitioned the goddess as of late, even though Arashu hadn't visited her since that first day. She was starting to figure out what people meant when they spoke of faith in their gods.

Once her prayer was over, she flicked her mask back on, turned to Miranda, and said, "Well, let's go meet the queen."

* * *

Aria was ready to see them as soon as they arrived and their very brief meeting with Omega's asari queen ended with the two of them rushing off towards one of club's private rooms. "Archangel," their other potential recruit, had somehow gotten every merc group in the Terminus Systems on his bad side and they were all teaming up to fight him.

The fact that the merc groups were also hiring anyone with a gun to join in the fight had Kalissa wondering just what kind of creature this "Archangel" was.

As they neared the private room where that the mercs were using as a recruiting station, Miranda leaned forward and hissed, "Do you really think that we should be doing this without backup?"

"We don't have time to go back to the ship," Kalissa whispered. "Every second we waste lowers our chances of getting to Archangel."

"We don't actually need him, you know. There are plenty of other candidates on that list," the dark-haired woman replied, but by then they'd entered the recruiting room and Kalissa was too busy praying that none of the mercs would see through her mask and recognize her as Commander Shepard to say anything back.

Apparently Arashu had decided to help out, or maybe it was just that none of the mercs had gear to see through masks, because no one recognized the average-looking blonde merc in dingy armor as Commander Shepard, Savior of the Citadel. In fact, once she'd signed on and been told where to go, they barely gave her or Miranda a second glance.

That was just fine with Kalissa. It gave her a chance to exchange a few more quiet words with Miranda as they made their way towards the mercs' transport shuttle and the first thing that she said was, "Any chance that we can sneak into the office where they've got this guy cornered? I don't like the idea of joining in on the main assault when Archangel doesn't know who we are."

Miranda gave her an unreadable look and then asked, "How? I know that you don't have that type of knowledge, Shepard, and neither do I. I'm not a _thief_."

Kalissa shot her companion an annoyed glare, but the other woman's only reply was a cool smile that made Kalissa sigh and say, "Okay, point taken. Ms. Goto _might_ be more of an asset then I initially though. She'll be our next stop if we survive this."

Miranda nodded once and Kalissa would've sworn that the blue-eyed operative has a triumphant gleam in her eye, but these thoughts were quickly brushed aside as they reached the transport shuttle and piled in for their ride down to the mercs' temporary headquarters.

It wasn't a long flight and, as they came in for a landing, Kalissa managed to catch a brief glimpse of the battlefield where one thing caught her eye: an old-fashion gunship, probably bought secondhand and fixed up by one of the gangs. In that instant, a plan began to form in her mind and she found herself wondering just how much an AI could do while still shackled.

* * *

Garrus Vakarian wasn't tired. No, tired was the word used to describe someone who'd had a long day at the office and just wanted to go to bed. He wasn't exhausted either. Exhausted didn't begin to describe the bone-deep fatigue that had settled into every inch of his body. He'd been awake for three days now and 61 of those 72 hours had been spent fighting. Soon it was going to be 62 hours and there was no end in sight. The mercs were still coming in droves.

At this point, he'd accepted his death. There was no way out of here and he was okay with that. He just wanted to take as many of these bastards with him as possible and then he could join Shepard in whatever came next. She'd probably rag on him for giving up too easy.

That thought made a smile cross his face as he took aim and got ready to fire at the next wave of mercs, but what he saw on the other end of his sniper rifle's scope made his talons freeze on the trigger.

_No way._

Coming across the bridge was a face that had haunted his dreams for two years: Commander Shepard. Admittedly, her face was hidden behind some kind of mask, but his visor let him see right through it.

Had he finally lost it? Was the lack of sleep getting to him at last?

He didn't know, but he couldn't shoot at Shepard or even a Shepard look alike, so he quickly changed his target and took out the mercs to her left as she and her companion… took out the mercs to their right? What the hell was going on here?

He didn't have time worry about it, though, so he choose to keep right on sniping while he waited for Shepard to get up here and explain things. Who knew, maybe he had died and this was his version of the afterlife: blowing away mercs with Shepard for the rest of eternity.

He could think of worse fates, though he'd sort-of hoped that the afterlife would include a well-stocked bar. One that didn't blare that shitty music that most of the places he'd been to seem to favor. It'd have gorgeous, turian women, too, and he'd actually know what to say when one of them talked to him, a talent that he'd never seemed to get the hang of during his life.

He was still listing off the requirements for his personal version of paradise when he took out the last of the mercs and then watched from above as the Shepard lookalike and her unknown companion hurried up the stairs to meet him. Or shoot him. Who knew at this point?

There was only one way to find out, though, so he unlocked the room's door and waited.

It wasn't long before the woman-who-looked-like-Shepard came striding into the room, flicked off her mask, and asked, "Archangel?" in a voice that made a wave of memories wash over him.

This was Shepard, not doubt about it. The way she stood, the way she sounded, even that little smirk on her face. No one could copy her that well, so he turned around, took off his helmet, and leaned back on one of the room's tables as he drank in the sight of his friend and said, "Shepard, I thought you were dead."

* * *

When the mysterious Archangel took off his helmet, Kalissa couldn't believe who was under it. "Garrus? What are you doing here?"

Her old friend smiled, but there was an unusual cadence to his voice when he replied, "Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice."

Kalissa had been afraid of this. Garrus had been fighting for three days straight. How much longer could he go before collapsing? She really didn't want to find out.

The sound of something hitting on concrete distracted her from her internal worries as she and Garrus moved to stand at the room's railing. She couldn't see what was happening across the bridge very well, but Garrus had his sniper rifle raised so that he could look down the scope and get a better view. After a moment, he lowered the rifle and said, "Scouts. Eclipse, I think." Then he handed her the gun. "Take a look."

She did and she didn't like what she saw: LOKI mechs. Her eyes narrowed as memories of the last time that she'd seen those things tickled the edges of her consciousness. Without another though, she aimed the rifle and took out one of the mechs, though the recoil on the gun made her stagger a bit. Then she smirked lightly and handed the gun back to Garrus. "More than scouts. One less now, though."

"Indeed," he replied as he aimed the gun to fire on another one. "We better get ready."

Kalissa's smirk widened into a grin. "Actually, I was thinking that it's time we got out of here."

Garrus lowered his rifle and gave her a knowing look. "What harebrained scheme have you cooked up this time?"

Kalissa just winked at him and then turned on her omnitool. "EDI, get us outta here!"

Seconds later, a gunship took off from the merc hideout and came zooming right towards them. Garrus dove for cover, but no one else did and the ship wasn't flying in an attack pattern.

In fact, it looked like it was coming to pick them up and Garrus would've sworn that he could hear screams about "hackers" coming from over in the merc base.

He was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on when the ship came to a halt so that it was level with the room's window and the cargo bay door slid open to reveal that it was empty. Then a voice came blaring out of the ship's com-link. "We need to hurry, Shepard. I estimate that we have no more than five minutes before they're able to regain control of the ship."

The Commander nodded and then motioned for Garrus to jump into the cargo bay.

The poor turian was completely lost now, but he wasn't going to argue with a rescue attempt so he followed his Commander and her new teammate into the mercs' gunship. Once the three of them were safely inside and the ship was on its way to wherever it was headed, Garrus turned to face the two women and asked, "How'd you manage to hack their ship?"

Kalissa grinned. "That's a long story. Let's just say that one of my new crew members knew a few security flaws that we could exploit. We have to hurry, though, because they could hack back into the systems using the same doors that we did. The ship's dropping us off as soon as we're out of their sight range and then Joker's gonna have some fun with it while we go pickup Dr. Solus."

Garrus had been able to follow along reasonably well for most of this, but she'd lost him with that last bit and the only thing that his exhausted brain could think to ask was, "Who?" as the ship touched down.

The Commander's explanation of, "A salarian scientist who gave up his career in the STG to open a clinic on Omega. I need him to help me fight mechanized bugs that can somehow paralyze people," was given as she jumped out of the cargo bay and motioned for him to do the same.

By now Garrus was somewhat convinced that this was all an elaborate hallucination cooked up by his wearied mind. Still, he had ask, "What?" as he exited the ship and followed after Shepard and her companion.

His question made the Commander paused midstride and she turned to face him with an amused smile on her pale, human lips. "You know what, I'll explain later, when we're back on the _Normandy_."

"The _Normandy_?" Garrus echoed as the memory of the ship blowing apart around him flashed through his mind. The _Normandy_ was gone. Yeah, he was definitely hallucinating.

The Commander did seem awful real, though. Especially when she stepped closer and laid a hand on his shoulder as she replied, "Sorry, I'm sort-of assuming that you wanna come along on this. I mean, it's quite possibly a suicide mission."

Garrus let out a low laugh. Hallucination or not, this was the best thing to happen to him in two years and he could see that Shepard knew he was in. That didn't stop him from making sure she knew, though, and so he gave her the biggest grin that his tired muscles could managed as he said, "Just like old times, Shepard."

* * *

Their recruitment of Dr. Solus was far less eventful than Garrus'. As soon as the scientist heard the general information on their mission, he agreed to join up, saying, "Collectors a problem. Reapers bigger problem. Galactic threat definite. Good you came to me. Had to be me. Someone else might get it wrong."

Then he sent them off to the ship with a promise to be there soon.

Kalissa was inclined to wait for him, but the exhaustion that was practically radiating off of Garrus made her think otherwise, so she left the good doctor with the information necessary to find the _Normandy_ and then dragged her old friend back to the ship. Her plan was to shove him into a bed and make him sleep for a couple of days.

That plan was waylaid when Kelly greeted them at the airlock with wide eyes. "Commander, we've just received word that the colony on Altakiril has gone dark."

The announcement made Kalissa's spirits sink. More lives to add to the death count. Then Kelly added two more sentences to her report. Two sentences that changed everything: "Which doesn't make any sense. That colony wasn't human, it was turian."

* * *

**Shimmer Mask (codex entry)**

Named for the popular, 2145 drama "Shimmer and Glimmer" in which the main character, a girl named "Shimmer," used a holographic mask to disguise herself as a different person so that she could become famous as a pop star named "Glimmer." The show inspired a line of toy masks that were later adapted for more covert purposes. They're often used as a quick disguise for high-risk individuals, though most modern security systems are able to see through all but the best-quality masks.

Their official name is Holographic Identity Disguising or H.I.D. Masks, but the Alliance has so far been unable to make the new name stick. Everyone but the top Alliance brass calls them "shimmer masks."


	7. A Change In Parameters

There were two Kalissas. The first one was the everyday version. The Kalissa who loved to joke with her friends, drink tea, and collect model ships. She was average. She didn't draw attention to herself. Then there was the other version. That Kalissa was a warrior, a tactician, a leader. She could face down a horde of zombie-like husks without flinching and inspire her team to do the same.

As soon as the implications of Kelly's announcement sunk in, this second Kalissa took charge.

"Kelly, I want you to prepare a briefing on the incident. You'll be presenting it to myself, Miranda, and Dr. Solus upon his arrival so hurry, because he should be here within the hour."

After the yeoman had nodded, given a quick salute, and scampered off to do her task, Kalissa turned to Garrus and said, "Medbay. Now."

The weary turian didn't argue. He just nodded and followed after his Commander as she led him through the new ship and down to the medbay where Dr. Chakwas was ready and waiting. A brief examination revealed exactly what they'd all expected: "You're dehydrated, malnourished, and severely sleep-deprived, so take off that armor, hop on a bed, and start drinking this while I give the Commander a quick check-up."

Garrus took the offered dextro drink from the doctor and started to shuck off his armor while Chakwas turned around, held up her hand, and began to scan Kalissa with her omni-tool. After a few moments, the doctor lowered her hand and said, "Well, it seems like your little fieldtrip didn't exacerbate your healing tissues in the slightest and your biotic amp isn't even registering a unique thermal signature."

"It wouldn't, I didn't use my biotics," Kalissa explained with a shrug that made Dr. Chakwas' eyes widen.

"You didn't… Commander, when I said that your body was still adapting to the new tech and that you should be careful, I didn't mean that you should endanger yourself in a fight!"

"It's fine, doc. I would've used them if I'd thought that I needed to, but we didn't actually see much fighting and my pistols were more than enough for the little that we did," Kalissa soothed with a soft smile that the doctor soon returned.

Then she sighed and said, "Yes, well, you should be fine to use them at their full potential by week's end. I'd suggest that you start practicing with little bits of power over the next few days. I'd also like you to come see me after each session so that we can ensure that everything's working well."

Kalissa nodded. "I'll add it to my workout routine. Anything else?"

"No, you're free to go. Garrus, on the other hand, will be staying here until I think he's ready for active duty," Chakwas replied and then both women fell silent, waiting to hear the usual protests that the turian spewed anytime he was ordered to stay in the medbay for longer than a few minutes, but he didn't say a word. The only noises coming from their old friend were the soft sounds associated with deep sleep.

When they realized what had happened, they exchanging amused smiles and then the doctor whispered, "I'll get him on an IV drip, replace the fluids that he's lost. You can come visit whenever you like, but don't expect him to be available until next week at the earliest."

"Take as long as you need," Kalissa replied. "I don't wanna loose him right after I got him back."

Then she exchanged a short goodbye with the older woman and headed off towards the _Normandy's_ conference room.

* * *

She got there just as Miranda was guiding the newly arrived Dr. Solus through the _Normandy's_ lab and into the room where Kelly was already waiting. After a quick exchange of greetings, the four of them gathered around the table and the yeoman briefed the other three on the details of the latest abduction. Those details were limited at best, but there was enough there to confirm what they'd already guessed: the colonists had been taken by collectors.

Once Kelly finished her report, Kalissa turned to her team and asked, "Any theories?"

The salarian doctor made a little humming noise and then said, "Vast majority of colonies human. Farthest colonies, too. Explorative species. Statistically most likely to be abducted."

Miranda nodded and then chimed in, "He's right. Cerberus was looking at the attacks as the collectors _specifically_ targeting humans. We never considered the idea that it was just statistics at work."

Kalissa let out a deep breath of air, crossing her arms as she did so, and then said, "Yes, well, I think it's time that we considered that idea, don't you?"

"Indeed," Miranda agreed, "though this new information doesn't change anything as far as the mission is concerned. Colonies are still being attacked and the collectors still need to be stopped."

"So Cerberus is gonna keep funding us?" Kalissa asked, giving voice to the little thread of concern that had been worrying her ever since she realized that the mission had ceased to be human-centric.

Her question seemed to irk Miranda, who forcefully replied, "Of course. Cerberus' goal the advancement of the human race, nothing more, nothing less. We're not _against_ saving other species in the process of saving our own, Shepard. We just won't go out of our way to do it."

A coughing sound drew the two woman's attention from each other and they both turned to look at Doctor Solus, who merely smiled and said, "Should get to work on research. Might need it soon."

Kalissa nodded and said, "Right," in near perfect synchronization with Miranda's reply of "Good idea."

Her XO's unexpected response didn't prompt any noticeable response in the Commander, but there was a new note of authority in her voice when she told the doctor, "All of the data and samples that we've gathered so far are waiting for you in the _Normandy's_ lab, Dr. Solus. It's been dedicated as your personal research space. If you need anything, just let myself or Yeoman Chambers know."

The salarian grinned and there was a clear note of excitement in his voice when he replied, "Samples? Excellent! Will begin analysis immediately."

He started to make his way towards the door, but then he stopped, glanced back, and added, "Can call me, Mordin, Shepard. Formality unnecessary," before leaving the room.

Once he was gone, Miranda sighed and said, "He's… interesting, Shepard. Brilliant, too. He actually knew that EDI was an AI as soon as she welcomed him aboard."

That last line caught Kalissa's attention. "He did?"

"Yes, but he didn't seem bothered by it. He just called us desperate," the dark-haired woman explained with an annoyed frown and Kalissa found herself biting back a grin as Miranda turned to look at her and added, "So, what's our plan?"

"We head to the citadel," Kalissa replied without hesitation. "I don't know if this latest abduction will change anything, but I wanna at least try to get the council involved now that the collectors are taking multiple species. If they won't help us, then at least we'll know where we stand."

Her XO nodded slightly and then asked, "And our recruitment efforts?"

Kalissa thought about it for a moment and then said, "For right now, just stick with recruiting Kasumi Goto. I'll get you another name or two by morning." Then she dismissed Miranda and Kelly with strict order to get some rest.

After the two women had gone, Kalissa asked EDI to open a channel to the cockpit, intending to tell Joker to set a course for the Citadel before he turned in for the night. Her pilot's opening lines of, "Was that Garrus, Commander? I thought you were going after some vigilante named Archangel?" successfully distracted her, though. As a smile spread across her lips, she decide that the orders could wait a minute or two.

"One and the same, Joker. Turns out Garrus has been up to a lot these past two years."

Joker laughed. "I'll say. Looks like he finally got that stick outta his ass. What'd you think he's going to do with his free time now that we don't have a Mako in need of constant calibration?"

"Oh, I thought I'd let him try his hand at calibrating our weapons arrays," Kalissa rejoined and she just knew that Joker was rolling his eyes when he replied, "I'm sure he'll be thrilled, Commander. Anyway, what's our heading?"

"The Citadel. I'm gonna go have a little talk with the council," Kalissa explained as she leaned back against the conference room's table and waited for Joker's commentary.

She didn't have to wait long and there was a pained tone to his voice when he said, "You know that they're not gonna help, right?"

Kalissa sighed. He was right, of course, and she had a feeling that Joker understood her frustrations better than most. Why would the Alliance ground one if it's best pilots? Because he wouldn't give in and let them cover-up the reaper threat. It was just a theory and she knew better to ever bring it up, but that theory lent a note of sympathy to her voice when she replied, "I have to try, Joker. If they say no, then at least they can't blame me for not informing them when the reapers show up and fry our asses."

"Rodger that," the pilot agreed. "Plotting a course for the Serpent Nebula now. We'll be there by tomorrow morning."

Morning? Kalissa frowned. "Don't stay up all night just to get us there bright and early, Joker. I'm not in _that_ big of a rush to see them again."

Her pilot's only responses was an amused laugh followed by a cheery, "Goodnight, Commander."

"Night Joker," she replied before telling EDI to close the channel and heading out of the conference room.

* * *

Kalissa's first action after leaving the conference room had been to go up to her cabin, but she'd only stayed there long enough to grab her data pad before heading down to the ship's mess. Between saving Garrus and dealing with the news of Altakiril's colony, she'd had very little time for food and it was about time that she remedied that.

When she reached the crew deck, she found the mess unsurprisingly empty, which was just how she liked it. Gardener, the ship's cook, wasn't a bad chef, but Kalissa enjoyed the simple pleasure of picking out her own meal and eating alone when she got the chance.

After popping some sort of noddle dish into the rehydration machine, she set about making a cup of tea, if you could call the generic stuff that Cerberus had supplied tea, that is. She wasn't sure if doing so would be an insult to real tea. As she dumped her third spoonful of sugar into the steaming brown liquid, she added "good tea" to her mental shopping list, right between "non-Cerberus themed clothing" and "Serrice Ice Brandy."

Her list was getting pretty long at this point and she found herself wondering if she'd ever have the chance to actually shop for anything on it as she sat down at the mess' empty table and pulled up the list of dossiers on her data pad. Time to pick another group of recruits.

That thought soon had a frown tugging at her lips as she considered the day's events. They had opened her eyes in unexpected and unpleasant ways, especially when it came to her own abilities. Looking back, she knew full well that she wouldn't have been able to come up with a plan get her team out of the office that Garrus had been holed up in. At least, not without one hell of a fight. That gunship had probably saved their lives.

This realization had brought about another one: she needed people who didn't fit the traditional model. People who didn't see the world through military-trained eyes. People who would bring a perspective to the team that she couldn't. She knew how traditional fighters – those people who were mercs, cops, or military – thought, but thieves? Collectors? Reapers? She didn't have a clue.

It was time to face reality: she was on a mission to save the galaxy and she needed the best, not the most morally inclined. She had to choose the people that she needed, not the people that she wanted.

With that thought in mind, she closed the list that she'd been looking at and had the pad open up the folder marked "no."

Inside were a little over a dozen profiles, people who she'd ruled out without a second thought because of their career choice or crimes. It was time to stop judging and start assessing.

She scanned the list, trying to decide where to start, and then her eyes fell upon a name right in the middle: Thane Krios. The assassin. How did an assassin see the world? What tactical advantages would he give her that a normal mercenary couldn't?

She let out a small sigh. Thane's dossier had been the first to go into this folder and she'd put it there after reading just three lines of his profile. It was time to read the rest.

There wasn't much to read, as it turned out. Cerberus' info on the man was limited at best. Yesterday, Kalissa would've thought that this meant that Cerberus was trying to hide things from her. Today's events had changed that opinion because, if the lack of a line reading "REAL NAME GARRUS VAKARIAN" in Archangel's profile was anything to go by, Cerberus needed better researchers.

It also made her slightly less suspicious about how long it was taking to compile dossiers on Liara, Tali, Wrex, and Ashley.

Her thoughts trailed off to memories of her old crew as she took a sip of her tea and let her eyes sink shut, breathing in the calm of the ship. Then she sighed and opened them again. Enough avoidance maneuvers, she knew what she had to do.

With a heavy heart, she pulled up the pad's messaging app and typed out a message to Miranda:

_Have your people locate Thane Krios, he's next on the list after Ms. Goto._

Her hand hovered over the app's send button. An assassin. Was she really recruiting an assassin?

_The best people for the mission, Kalissa, the ones you need, not the ones who fit your definition of "good."_

She hit send.


	8. Late Night Talks And Wardrobe Changes

Within minutes of sending her message, Kalissa found herself reading through Thane Krios' dossier again, trying to convince herself that she'd made the right call. She'd just reached the list of "known hits" for the third time when the change occurred, that sudden onset of stillness that heralded the arrival of her immortal patron. She didn't need to look up to know that Arashu was here, but she did it anyway and was surprised to find the goddess sitting on the other side of the table with her hands resting demurely on its surface. It was an oddly unassuming position for the powerful being and yet it suited her well.

After a brief pause to study her guest, Kalissa set down her data pad and welcomed Arashu with a soft smile as she asked, "Is this a social call or were you coming by so that I could thank you for today's help face to face?"

The goddess made a humming sound and returned Kalissa's smile before saying, "You greatly overestimate the technology in the position of your enemies and you undervalue the expertise of your crew. I gave you no aid in your mission."

For a moment, Kalissa could only stare at Arashu in surprise as she reevaluated the day's events in light of this new information, then she shook her head and let out an amused chuckle. "Never assume divine intervention when shear dumb luck will do just as well, huh?"

The goddess didn't reply aloud, she just continued to smile and so Kalissa pressed on, saying, "So, why are you here then? I doubt that you're gonna give me advice on who to choose for my team, right?"

"Correct," the goddess agreed. "Providing such knowledge would be the same as making your choices for you as you would choose the people who I told you to."

"Well, could you save me a headache and just tell me who _I'm_ going to pick?" Kalissa inquired with a wry grin, even though she already knew the answer.

An answer that Arashu didn't bother to give. Instead, the goddess just smiled again and moved the conversation along. "In regards to your other question, I am here so that you might speak freely to one who will listen to your words without judgment."

The Commander considered this statement briefly and then her lips twisted into a confused frown. "You're here to let me vent?"

"Your burden is a heavy one and I will do all that I can to help you carry it without directly interfering," Arashu explained. "Allowing you to 'vent' to me does not effect the universe or your choices in any way, but it does allow you a chance to speak to one who is more than capable of bearing the burden of your concerns. Besides, you will ask me several questions during this meeting whose answers will prove to ease your worries in the coming days."

This last bit made Kalissa smile again and prompted another question. "What's it like knowing everything?"

"Far less of a burden than you think it is, but only because of what I am," the goddess replied softly. "The amount of pain and suffering that I have seen would destroy a mortal."

The admission made a shiver run down Kalissa's spine and she found herself asking, "Don't you ever want to end it?"

Arashu sighed and a sad smile briefly crossed her lips before she answered, "Of course. I would dearly love to end all of the agony in this universe, but such a thing is impossible as long as free will exists."

Kalissa didn't see why and she asked as much. The goddess didn't give her a direct reply, though. Instead, the immortal being leaned ever so slightly forward and said, "Describe heaven."

"Heaven? Heaven would be…" Kalissa's voice trailed off and a blush stole across her cheeks as an image flashed before her eyes, then she sighed and said, "Oh, this sounds silly, but you already know what I'm gonna say so, okay… When you say heaven, I think of my grandmother's house back on earth. We didn't visit often, it's hard to get planet side when both of your parents are in the military, but it felt like home in a way that none of the ships and space stations ever did. Curling up on the window seat in my room there and feeling the sun warm my skin as I read a book or sitting in her kitchen and drinking tea out of the old, china cups that she loved so much… those are the images that I associate with heaven."

Arashu nodded and then asked, "How happy would your friend Wrex be in the world you've just told me about?"

"Wrex?" Kalissa echoed in surprise. Then she laughed as her lips twisted into an amused grin. "He'd hate it! His idea of heaven probably includes a daily cage match or something equally ridiculous."

Arashu's eyes were glimmering with mirth now. "And Tali?"

"Tech," Kalissa replied without hesitation. "Lots and lots of tech and I think that I see exactly where this is going."

"Indeed you do," the goddess agreed. "To create one person's idea of a perfect universe is to create another person's hell. If I were to make this universe a utopia, I would have to change the wills of billions in the process."

Kalissa nodded to show that she understood and then another though crossed her mind. "How does heaven work then?"

Arashu leaned back in her seat and gazed calmly at her chosen warrior as she said, "That is a question whose answer I will give you at another time, when it will be of great help in dismissing your worries about a very difficult choice."

"If you say so," Kalissa sighed, knowing full well that there was no point in pushing the issue.

The goddess seemed to approve of this, for she made a humming noise and then said, "Now let us discuss that which is currently troubling you."

It took Kalissa a moment to figure out what exactly Arashu was referring to, but when she did, her voice took on a clear note of sarcasm. "What, you mean the fact that I'm recruiting a thief and an assassin? No, that's not troubling me at all."

Kalissa followed this statement with a clearly fake smile, but then the real implications of her words sank in and the smile morphed into a frown. "Wait, are you okay with me doing that? I mean, a lot of the people on my team don't really fit my image of 'righteous warriors' and I am your… is emissary the right word?"

"No, it is not. To call you an emissary would imply that you are enacting my will upon the mortal realms and you are not. The actions you take are entirely your own," Arashu explained. Then she smiled and added, "As to your other question, well, would you consider yourself a righteous warrior?"

"Not at all," Kalissa replied. "I mean, I didn't even believe in you before all of this."

"And yet I gave you the choice to come back when there are millions of my faithful ones who have perished and passed on into the next life. Millions who would have gladly returned to this life at my behest. Why did I choose you and not them?" the goddess inquired.

Kalissa already knew the answer. "Because of the choices I'm going to make, right?"

"Exactly," Arashu agreed. "I choose you because you were the only one who could do the things that you are going to do and you are choosing your team because they are the individuals who you believe to be the most suited to the task before you, as well you should. I could not fault you for choosing based on need instead of piety when I have done the exact same, now could I?"

Kalissa nodded and was about to reply when the goddess spoke again. "I should add that an individual's measure amounts to more than the sum of his or her actions."

Though she thought she understood what Arashu meant, Kalissa still asked for clarification, which the goddess readily gave. "A thief can have the piety of a saint and an assassin can be a thousand times more righteous than a priest."

"Right, I'll keep that in mind when I meet my," Kalissa paused and glanced down at Thane Krios' dossier to read, "drell assassin."

A frown cross her lips as soon as she'd read those words and she suddenly realized something when she recalled that Mordin's dossier had descried the doctor as a "salarian scientist."

"Drell must be his species," Kalissa whispered to herself as she stared at the assassin's dossier. "I thought that it was a description of his fighting style or something like that. I don't think I've ever… no, wait, that's a lie, I do know what a drell is. They're those lizard people who work with the hannar. I'd completely forgotten about them. I've never met one before. I don't even know what they look like, though I'm pretty sure that a bunch of them work in the hannar embassy on the Citadel."

She was still staring at the dossier and musing on her revelation when Arashu said, "You will know what they look like by the next time we meet, my siha."

"Siha?" Kalissa echoed as she lifted her gaze from the data pad to the spot where the goddess was sitting. "You keep using that term and I…" Her words trailed off, for the goddess had gone.

After a moment, Kalissa let out an amused little "hmm" and said, "Apparently it means 'goodbye.'"

Then she turned off her data pad and got up from the table. She'd done enough work for one day, it was time to get some sleep.

* * *

When Kalissa woke up the following morning, the skylight in her cabin was devoid of stars. In their place was a view that she knew well, having seen it many times before while standing at Joker's side in the cockpit of the old _Normandy_: a sprawling metropolis of gleaming, metallic towers suspended beneath the curving, cerulean cloudscape of an artificial sky. They'd reached the Citadel.

A quick shower later, she was down in the cockpit, standing by Joker's side as the two of them looked out over the sprawling city in silence.

Silence that was soon broken by the talented pilot. "So, are you gonna wear that shimmer mask again, Commander?"

"No," she replied. "What's the point? Omega's a backwater scum hole full of outdated tech. What works there is just gonna draw attention here."

"What's your plan then?" Joker asked as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

Kalissa consider the question for a moment and then a slow grin spread across her face. "Joker, have you ever seen me with my hair down?"

It took the _Normandy's_ pilot a moment to process the question and, when he had, he swiveled his chair around to face her. "Come again, Commander?"

"You heard me," Kalissa replied as her grin widened.

Joker gave her a weird look and then slowly said, "No, I can't say that I have?"

The Commander's grin turned into a smirk and then she gave him a teasing wink before turning around and heading back towards the ship's CIC while calling, "And neither has the rest of the galaxy," over her shoulder.

* * *

When Kalissa returned to the _Normandy's_ cockpit, her auburn hair was free of its traditional bun, her black slacks had been replaced with a pastel-blue skirt borrowed from Kelly, and she was wearing several layers of Miranda's makeup. In other words, she looked absolutely nothing like Commander Kalissa Shepard: Savior of the Citadel.

Joker actually had to do a double take, then he grinned and said, "You're right, Commander, I don't think anyone's gonna recognize you looking like _that_."

"That's the point," Kalissa reminded him.

He started to nod, but then stopped as a sudden gleam entered his baby-blue eyes. "Hey, you should go down to the medbay and show Garrus!"

She rolled her eyes skyward at his suggestion and then gave him an amused glance. "I swung by after getting this makeup off of Miranda, but he was fast asleep and I didn't feel like waking him up just so that he could see me wearing something fashionable for once."

"Too bad," Joker sighed as he turned his chair around and started messing with the buttons on his control panel. "I would've loved to see his reaction."

Kalissa made a small "mhmm" sound and then said, "Miranda tells me that we're docked in the Zakera wards?" as she pulled up her omni-tool's map program and started plotting her travel route.

The question made Joker scowl. "Yeah, she radioed me a couple of hours ago, told me to park the ship here for some reason. Wouldn't tell me why when I asked."

Even though Kalissa already knew this from an earlier talk with Miranda, the reminder that the other woman had once again issued orders without her approval made her sigh. She was about 90% sure that her XO wasn't actually trying to subvert her authority, no, that would be an easy enough problem to deal with. Miranda's issue was that she was still looking at Kalissa as her project, a project that she was in charge of, not the other way around.

Kalissa closed omni-tool as she made a mental note to figure out a way to remind Miranda that the success of Project Lazarus meant that Commander Shepard was now capable of _commanding_ things again without alienating the XO in the process. Then she glanced back at Joker and said, "It's because our newest team member's waiting for me down on the 27th level. I'm off to meet her now and then I'll go see if can get a word in with Councilor Anderson."

Once she'd finished informing Joker of the day's plan, Kalissa turned to the blue orb at his side. "EDI, keep everyone on the ship while I'm gone. We'll probably be leaving before the day's end and I don't wanna have to hunt down crewmembers. Oh, and if Miranda starts pushing her position again, please _politely_ inquire if she'd like to check with me first."

The AI's reply of, "Understood, Shepard" was drowned out by Joker asking, "Shouldn't you take someone else as backup, Commander?"

"It's the Citadel, Joker, and I'm sticking to the nice parts. I'll be fine and I've got my biotics if anything goes wrong," Kalissa reassured him, ignoring the fact that her full bioltic abilities were technically still off-limits for two more days.

The pilot shrugged and turned back to the flight consul. "If you say so. Any idea where we're headed when you get back?"

"Not yet," Kalissa admitted. "I've got Miranda working to locate our assassin, but he's not exactly an easy man to track."

Joker's fingers paused over electronic keyboard before him as her words sunk in. Then he glanced back at her. "An _assassin_, Commander?"

"Yeah," Kalissa replied with an amused grin. "And the woman that I'm picking up today is a _thief_, so be sure that you've got your valuables locked away before she gets here."

Then she headed out of the airlock and off into the bowels of the Citadel before Joker could formulate a response.


	9. Officially Alive

The Citadel was littered with ad terminals and each one was programed to read the identity tags of nearby individuals so that it could display appropriate ads. Kalissa had heard these ads a thousand times over and none of them had ever sounded quite like the ones coming from the terminal that she was currently standing before.

"Commander Shepard, enter the password and receive a free gift!"

This offer was made by a voice that clearly wasn't digital and Kalissa found herself scanning the area for the hacker. No one caught her eye, though, and the terminal's next ad had her whirling back around to face it while working very hard to stomp down the laughter that was threatening to burst from her lips and draw the attention of everyone nearby.

"Got problems with collectors? Try Kasumi's credit services!"

As soon as she managed to stifle her laughs, Kalissa said the password that Miranda had told her earlier that morning: "Silence is golden."

Once she'd said these words, the terminal blinked back to its normal feeds and an ad for asari burial shrouds began to blare, but Kalissa didn't pay any attention to it. She was too busy looking down at her omni-tool which now displayed the message, "I'm right beside you. Don't freak."

She was still staring at the message when an invisible hand rested on her shoulder and the same, lightly-accented voice that had been narrating the strange ads whispered, "Good to finally meet you, Shep. Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan," in her ear.

In spite of the thief's prior warning, Kalissa tensed for a moment, but then she smiled and relaxed while saying, "That's some nice tech you've got there, Ms. Goto, but is there any reason for all of the cloak and dagger nonsense or do you just like it?"

Even though she couldn't see her newest recruit, Kalissa could tell that the other woman was smiling when she replied, "You don't get to be the best in the business by making yourself well-known, Shep. I like to stay out of sight. I also needed to make sure that all of this was legit, but I have no doubts now. You're the real Commander Shepard, though I can't say that I expected you to be wearing something quite that stylish to meet me. I assumed you'd be wearing armor."

"You're not the only one who likes to keep a low profile," Kalissa retorted as she glanced around to make sure that no one had noticed that she was talking to thin air and decided to listen in. They hadn't, but she still lowered her voice to a whisper as she added her next words, "I take it you already know the mission details?"

Kasumi made a humming noise and removed her hand from Kalissa's shoulder while saying, "Honestly, I'm shocked that it took Cerberus this long to contact me. It's my fault for being so hard to find, I guess."

That was all that Kalissa needed to hear and a smirk wormed itself onto her face as she said, "Normally, this is the part where I shake your hand, but that would probably draw some stares, so I'll just say 'welcome to the team' for now and we can do the handshake part later."

The thief acknowledged the greeting with a laugh as Kalissa asked, "Do I even need to tell you where the Normandy's docked?"

Kasumi's amused reply of, "I'll see you on the ship" told Kalissa that her guess had been spot-on and, though she couldn't tell if the thief was still beside her, she added, "Good, then I'll _see_ you there in a few hours" before heading towards the C-Sec entrance to Zakera wards.

As she waited in the relatively short line for entry scans, Kalissa slowly reviewed the brief meeting with her new thief. It had gone surprisingly well and she was entertained by the realization that she was actually looking forward to having the other woman on the crew.

These silent musings were broken by a C-Sec officer telling her that it was her turn to step into the scan, which she did. Once the scan had run, she expected to be told to move on, but she wasn't. Instead, the turian officer running the scan frowned and opened a com-link to someone. As he whispered to whomever was on the other line, Kalissa felt her heart speeding up as her adrenaline began pumping and she realized that she was unconsciously prepping for a fight.

Her fears were quickly put to rest when the officer looked at her and sheepishly said, "Sorry for the inconvenience, ma'am. Our scanners are picking up false readings. They seem to think you're… dead."

Kalissa bit back a groan as she began mentally chastising herself for not realizing that this would be an issue, but outwardly she just smiled and said, "I was listed as 'missing-in-action' a while back, I thought we had the issue worked out, but…"

The turian officer nodded and motioned through the door while asking, "Would you mind checking in with my captain? He can reinstate you in our system. He's just past the scanners on your right."

Kalissa nodded and then followed the turian's directions over to a small desk where a blond, human male was sitting before a computer screen. As she approached, he glanced between her and whatever was being displayed on his computer screen a couple of times before saying, "I see the problem already, Commander Shepard. My consul says you're dead, as does every news report I've heard in the last two years."

"Is this the part where I prove my identity by giving you information that only I could know? Because, if it is, there's the slight issue that we've never met," Kalissa inquired with a grin, trying to stall for time as she thought up a believable excuse.

Her tactic seemed to be working, because the C-Sec Captain looked surprised for a moment, then he smiled lightly and said, "No, I've got no doubts that you are who the scanners say you are. We have the best screening equipment in the galaxy. Those scanners can sample DNA from skin flakes. Hell, if you have unregistered gene mods, they can even figure those out."

When he finished speaking, Kalissa's grin morphed into a serious look as she gave her newly crafted excuse, hoping that is was good enough, "If you know who I am, then you know what I am: a specter. I can't tell you what's happened in the last two years," _mostly because you'd never believe it,_ "but I can tell you that listing me as dead was a necessary part of my operation. In fact, I still don't want people to know I'm alive, so you and your officers will need to keep this information classified for now."

The man raised an eyebrow as he considered her words, then he looked something up on his computer. After reading whatever it was, he glanced back up at her and said, "You're right, your specter status was never rescinded. That doesn't change the fact that you're going to set off every scanner in the Citadel, though."

Kalissa nodded once and cross her arms over her chest as she replied, "Your sergeant said you could help with that."

"Usually you'd have to go through the station's security administration to reactivate your IDs," the man explained and then went on to list every other step in the process, which would probably take days. Days she just didn't have. Kalissa was starting to debate contacting the _Normandy_ and asking her newly recruited hacker if she could do something about the issue, when the Captain finished his list and then added, "But I can see you're a busy woman, so how about I just press this button here and we call it done?"

Now it was Kalissa's turn to look surprised and the Captain explained his offer before she even had to ask. "As far as I'm concerned, you're a god damn hero. I don't see why you need to spend nine days running around the Citadel trying to get reinstated in our systems when I can do it in nine seconds. I don't mind regulations, but when they keep people from doing their jobs, well… Sometimes things need to get done without a committee vote."

When the blonde man finished speaking, Kalissa smiled and held out her hand. "I don't think I've properly introduced myself, I'm Commander Shepard."

The Captain smiled back and took her hand, shaking it firmly as he replied, "Captain Bailey, glad to have you back."

Though Kalissa very much wanted to hang around the C-Sec office and talk with Bailey, she knew that the poor man was probably swamped with work and so she simply thanked him for his help and told him that she was glad to see someone with the ability to think beyond the book wearing a Captain's uniform. Then she left the office and headed towards the nearest rapid transit station in order to catch a taxi up to the presidium.

* * *

Kalissa had debated contacting Councilor Anderson before showing up in his office, but she'd decided against it. What would she have even said? "Hi Anderson, I'm alive! Oh, and there are nasty aliens called 'collectors' kidnapping colonists out in the terminus systems. I'm fighting them! By the way, the reason I'm alive is that Cerberus rebuilt my body, but don't worry, I'm still me!"

No, if he didn't already know that she was alive, a face-to-face discussion was the best way to deal with her resurrection.

Thus it was that she arrived at the building that house the offices of the human branch of the council unannounced, flummoxed a shocked secretary into letting her through on "specter authority," and marched into Anderson's office like she owned the place only to find herself greeted not just by Anderson, but by holographic versions of the other three councilors as well. As she stood in the doorway and force herself to calmly survey the scene, Kalissa realized that she'd just walked in on a council meeting.

It was clear from the looks on the faces of all four councilors that they were surprised by the interruption, but it did seem like they were surprised by who the interrupter was and she wondered if that was because they already knew that she was alive or if it was because they didn't recognize her.

The answer to that question became apparent when Anderson's eyes widened as he let out a harsh whisper of, "Shepard?" and then turned towards the other councilors to make sure that they could see her, too. When he'd confirmed that they could, he turned back to her and practically shouted, "Explain yourself, solider!"

"It's complicated, sir. I can provide genetic verification of my identity to the council as well as a detailed report of my survival at a later date. Right now, there is a far more pressing issue at hand: the abduction of colonists out in the Terminus Systems," Kalissa replied quickly, hoping that this little piece of information would catch the council's attention, which it did.

All four of them were listening attentively now as she pressed on, saying, "My team and I have discovered the perpetrators of these crimes and are planning to stop them."

"You have?" Anderson asked in near perfect unison with the turian councilor.

Kalissa nodded. "Yes, we have evidence that proves that the species known as collectors are preforming these abduction and we believe that they're doing them on reaper authority."

As soon as she said the word 'reaper,' the council's attitude changed. Where there had previously been nothing but interest, there was now everything from annoyance to amusement and she realized that Joker hadn't been kidding when he told her about the cover-up.

That realization was quickly confirmed by the turian councilor's response of, "Ah yes, 'reapers.' The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim."

Kalissa tried to reason with them, but every argument that she brought up was quickly countered or shot down by one of the three non-human councilors. What it boiled down to was this: there was no evidence to support her claim.

What was worse was that Kalissa actually understood where they were coming from. She didn't have hard evidence about the reapers, just her word and her word wasn't enough to prompt council action, even if she was a specter. She didn't like it, but she understood and so she moved the conversation on. "Reapers or no, the collector threat is a real and provable one. I'm going after them via funds I've received from a private source, but I'd like council backing on this mission if possible."

This suggestion was met with a slightly better reception from the asari councilor. "The Terminus Systems are not a part of council space and we hold no authority there, but we agree that the threat to the colonies cannot go unanswered.

"Though the council cannot officially sanction or help your mission in any way, we do support it unofficially and will allow you continued access to your specter resources for its entirety. We also encourage you to look for evidence of your reaper claims. We know that you believe this threat to be real and, if you can provide us with solid evidence, then we will address the issue as we see fit."

Once the asari had finished speaking, the salarian councilor spoke up, "Councilor Anderson, will you accept responsibility for confirming Commander Shepard's identity?"

Anderson assented, though he still looked slightly dazed by the arrival of his former XO, and the other councilors signed off, leaving the two of them to their reunion.

A reunion that started off with the words, "How the hell are you still alive?"

Kalissa sighed. "You probably want to sit down for this one, sir. It's gonna take a while."

Anderson nodded, then he gratefully sunk into a chair and waited for her to speak.

It took her a moment to figure out where to start, but once she did, she didn't stop speaking until she'd told him everything. Everything but the fact that her revival had been facilitated by a goddess, that is.

Anderson didn't say anything until she'd finished her report and even then it took him a few minutes to get out the words, "Christ, Shepard, Cerberus?"

"I'm working with them, sir, not for them. There's a world of difference between the two," Kalissa reminded him.

"I still don't like it," Anderson replied. Then he sighed and added, "but beggars can't be choosers and right now we're stuck being beggars. The other councilors are right: only a privately funded mission can deal with these abductions and, if Cerberus is offering, then I'll take it."

"That was my opinion as well, sir," Kalissa agreed.

Silence fell once more as the two studied each other for a moment, then Anderson smiled and rose from his seat as he held out his hand. "We'll need to go take care of your genetic identifications and I have some questions that I want to make sure you know the answers to, but those are just for official purposes. I've known you for long enough that I don't need a test to know it's you."

Kalissa smiled back and walked over to take the offered hand, shaking it firmly as she thanked her former Captain for his faith in her. As she did this, a data pad on the corner of his desk caught her eye.

Since she didn't want him to think she was snooping, she only managed a glimpse before they left his office and headed off to confirm her identity, but what she saw more than piqued her curiosity: a picture of her old friend Ashley Williams and the word "Horizon."


	10. Destination: Illium

The identity verification process took longer than Kalissa had expected and, by the time she was finally free to go, all thoughts of mysterious messages on private data pads had been pushed from her mind. All she wanted was to get back to the _Normandy_ and curl up in bed. She was so tired that, once she'd entered the ship through the airlock, she immediately sagged against the wall that separated the cockpit from the rest of the ship, just enjoying the feeling of being home.

It wasn't long before she was greeted by an amused question of, "Long day, Commander?"

The good-natured jibe drew her gaze to her pilot's face and she gave him a tired smile as she replied, "You could say that."

Joker made a sympathetic noise and then innocently suggested, "Maybe you should get a drink down at our new bar?"

It took her a moment to process that, but when she had, Kalissa pushed herself off of the wall and turned so that she was fully facing the cockpit as she asked, "Our new _what_?"

Joker was grinning now. "You mean that Kasumi did that without your approval? Huh. And here I was worried about her taking things off the ship without asking. Never thought to question what she was brining on."

Kalissa highly doubted that and she didn't feel like playing games just to get a little information, so she glanced at the blue orb by Joker's side and asked, "EDI, what happened while I was gone?"

"Ms. Goto arrived at the ship exactly two hours, thirty-eight minutes, and 15 seconds after your departure, Shepard. She arrived in the company of several men who were granted access to the ship on her authority in order to bring in her personal items, the majority of which were in unmarked containers. One of these items was the parts to a small bar, which the men installed in the port-side observation lounge," EDI explained calmly.

As soon as the AI finished, Kalissa let out a low groan and said, "Miranda let her do that?"

"Ms. Lawson was not on the ship at the time in question," EDI replied. "She had made a brief trip to the Citadel on classified, Cerberus buisness."

"I thought I told you to keep people from leaving the ship!" Kalissa exclaimed in annoyance as she realized that Miranda had disobeyed a direct order.

That annoyance only intensified when the AI said, "I informed her of your orders, but I do not have the capability to control who may or may not board the _Normandy_, Shepard."

As she added "talk with Miranda" to the list of things she had to do before bed, Kalissa took a deep breath and then calmly inquired, "Does she know about the bar yet?"

EDI's reply of, "No, the men left before she returned and she has not been informed of the changes made to the ship as of yet," was given in discordant harmony with Joker's comment that, "I don't think anyone but you has the guts to tell her, Commander."

Kalissa glared at her pilot, but Joker just grinned back and said, "I fly the ship, Commander. You're the one who runs it."

"Now if only the rest of the crew could get that through their heads," Kalissa muttered before asking, "and why did she install it in the port lounge?"

EDI's explanation that, "Ms. Goto has taken that room as her personal quarters," only served to worsen the headache that Kalissa was starting to develop.

With a final glare at the two useless occupants of the cockpit, Kalissa turned around and headed towards the ship's elevator while calling, "I leave for a couple of hours and come back to this?" over her shoulder.

* * *

Though her first inclination was to immediately head down to the crew deck and see what exactly Kasumi had done to the ship, Kalissa forced herself to go to her personal quarters first. If she was going to deal with this, she wanted to look like herself to do it.

As she stripped out of the borrowed outfit, Kalissa felt a small pang of regret. It wasn't often that she got to put on something feminine and she almost always enjoyed the experience. Given the nature of her mission, she highly doubted that she'd be wearing something like this again anytime soon.

Still, there was work to do and so she wiped off Miranda's makeup, threw on a pair of slacks, and pulled her hair up into a bun before heading down to the crew deck where she immediately set off for the port observation lounge.

Upon entering the lounge, she immediately stopped short and stared around the room. To call what Kasumi had done "redecorating" would be an understatement. The little kleptomaniac had done more than add a bar, she'd practically rebuilt the entire room!

Kalissa was still standing in the doorway and staring around the room when a woman, who had to be Kasumi, decloaked by her side and asked, "Like it? Much nicer than what Cerberus had in here before."

There really was no good way to answer that because, in truth, Kalissa _did_ like the new layout. Preferred it, even! That didn't mean that she was okay with her crew members redesigning the ship as they saw fit, though, and so she didn't want to make a public statement of approval. She also didn't want to make Kasumi feel unwelcome. What she eventually ended up saying was, "Kasumi, you have marvelous taste and I want you to feel at home here, but please ensure that all future upgrades receive my approval before you perform them."

By the time Kalissa had finished speaking, Kasumi's lips had twist into a smile. "Did you ever consider a career as a diplomat?"

That one, tiny question did two things. First, it let Kalissa know that Kasumi was both incredibly perceptive and intelligent. It also informed her that she'd been absolutely correct in her earlier opinion: she was going to enjoy having the thief around, even if Kasumi was a little lax on the concept of "order of command."

As she filed away these bits of information, Kalissa motioned around the newly refurbished lounge and requested a tour, which Kasumi happily gave before politely asking the Commander to leave so that she could finish unpacking.

Kalissa assented to the request and then headed off towards the medbay to check on Garrus.

When she entered the sterilized room, Dr. Chakwas greeted her with a smile and said, "Evening, Commander. I was hoping that you'd swing by. Garrus is starting to show signs of waking up and I think that it'd be quite helpful if you were here for that."

Though Kalissa was more than happy to do so, she still had to ask, "How come?"

"Because we can't be sure how much he remembers given his condition during your reunion," the doctor explained. "And I would much rather have physical evidence of your resurrection instead of just my own word."

Kalissa made a soft noise of understanding and then pulled up a chair by Garrus' bed, content to just sit there and think until her old friend woke up.

It took quite some time before he opened his eyes and so Kalissa was too lost in her own thoughts to notice when he did. What she didn't miss was the loud noise of surprise he made or the way he sat up in bed with his body angled away from her as he pointed at her and shouted, "You're here!"

The he glanced around the room and added, "And this is a medbay!"

After taking a moment to process all of this, Kalissa nodded and said, "Both factually accurate statements, if a little confusing."

At the sound of her voice, Garrus' eyes had focused on her face and he followed her statement with a trembling reply of, "But you died!"

"Also correct," Kalissa agreed and she was about to explain what had happened when Garrus asked, "Am I dead?"

Kalissa couldn't help but smile at that. She knew that she shouldn't be enjoying this, but it was so rare to see Garrus show this much emotion and it felt so good to know that he was okay. She was still smiling when she told him, "No, you're not dead, I'm alive."

"Alive?" Garrus echoed, sounding more than a little lost when he added, "You mean, that was all real?"

"Yes and yes. I didn't realize that you thought it wasn't, though that does explain why you were so calm about everything back on Omega," Kalissa replied as she rested a hand on Garrus' knee.

The contact made her old friend jump and then he just stared down at her hand for a moment before reaching forward and poking it with one of his talons. He repeated this action a couple of times before turning to look at her again and whispering, "Back?"

It took her a moment to understand the question, but when she did, she smiled and said, "Oh, yeah, we left Omega yesterday. We're at the Citadel now."

Garrus didn't return her smile. Instead, his mandibles flickered slightly and then he started to speak again, saying, "No… you… you're… _back_?" Each word came out like a struggle and, by the time that he got the last one out, Kalissa wanted nothing more than to hug him, so she did. Protocols and ranks be damned.

After an initial moment of shock, Garrus hugged her back and Kalissa would've sworn she could hear Dr. Chakwas blowing her nose in the background.

The hug didn't last very long, but when they broke apart, Garrus looked like his old self and she could tell that he was giving her the turian equivalent of a smile.

A smile that she happily returned as she began to tell him everything, sparing no detail except that of Arashu's existence. Once she'd reached the end of her tale, she added, "I think you'll like the new ship and you already know our pilot."

"Joker?" Garrus guessed and Kalissa beam at him.

"Got it in one! He and the good doctor are the only other familiar faces, though," she admitted sadly. "I haven't been able to get the contact information for anyone else yet, though Cerberus _should_ be getting it to me sometime soon."

"Contact info?" Garrus asked and Kalissa explained that she'd lost a good deal of her data when the old _Normandy_ crashed.

"It's my fault for never backing anything up but, even if I had, their info might well have changed over the last two years," she finished with a shrug.

Garrus' mandibles flickered slightly and then he said, "Oh… I can give you Tali's address, if you want it."

That offer made Kalissa raise her eyebrows in a mixture of amusement and surprise. "You have Tali's contact info?"

"I have _everyone's_ contact info," Garrus replied just a little too quickly. Then he thought about it for a moment and added, "Everyone except Wrex, but I don't think he gave that out to anyone."

Kalissa was happy to hear that she wouldn't have to wait any longer to get in contact with her old crew, but that didn't mean that she was letting Garrus' little slip-up go uncommented upon. "Why'd you mention Tali first then?"

"Because I'm still somewhat exhausted and delirious. Don't read anything into it," he replied and the way his eyes refused to meet hers told Kalissa that he wasn't being totally honest, but she let the matter drop for now. Mostly because she knew that Chakwas would get mad at her if she upset the patient too much.

With that thought in mind, Kalissa stood up and said, "Alright, well, send the info along when you feel better. Right now I've gotta go talk to Miranda and see if we've finally located Thane Krios."

"You mean you don't know where he is?" Garrus inquired, sounding a little surprised by the admission.

In response, Kalissa simply shrugged and said, "I don't think Cerberus' people are all that good at getting information, truth be told."

She'd expected Garrus to laugh at this, but instead he just asked, "Why don't you see if Liara can help?"

"Liara? What good is a prothean expert at finding assassins?" Kalissa asked in confusion, only to have Garrus inform her that Liara was actually quite useful at finding people now. That's what information brokers did, after all.

Kalissa was stunned by this revelation and pressed her friend for details, but Garrus could only shrug tiredly and say, "I don't know why. All I know was that I got a message from her about 18 months ago saying that she was now working as an information broker on Illium. I used to get periodic updates from her about the location of criminals I was after. I don't know how she knew where they were or that I was Archangel, but she was always right."

"Okay then, if Miranda doesn't know where he is, then our next stop is Illium," Kalissa declared before slyly adding, "If you rest up and be a good patient for Dr. Chakwas, I may even let you go with me."

Garrus made a distressed noise, but Kalissa just smiled at him and then left him in Dr. Chakwas' capable hands as she exited the medbay and headed over to Miranda's office for a talk.

That talk didn't go so well.

"The Illusive Man is our employer, so orders from him take precedence over yours, Shepard," Miranda explained with poorly concealed annoyance that only served to further aggravate Kalissa.

Still, she kept her voice level and calm as she asked, "Miranda, how can I trust you on missions if I don't know that you'll follow my orders?"

"On missions?" the operative echoed, looking shocked at the question. "Shepard, the Illusive Man has given you free reign of this entire operation, he's not going to interfere with your mission plans."

"But what if he does?" Kalissa countered evenly. "What will you do, Miranda?"

The other woman started to reply, but then her words trailed off. It was clear to both of them which side she'd pick and how dangerous that could be.

Once she was sure that Miranda had nothing to say, Kalissa smiled thinly and said, "Exactly, but we'll talk about this more after you've had some time to consider the subject. Right now, I just want to know if you've located Thane Krios."

"Our experts are still searching for him," the dark-haired woman replied softly as she sat back down at her desk, never once looking Kalissa in the eyes as she did so.

"Okay, then we're going to Illium," Kalissa decreed firmly, making Miranda start and glance up at the Commander in surprise.

"Illium? What's on Illium?"

"An old friend turned information broker," Kalissa explained with a smile. Then her face returned to its calm mask as she added, "And I trust this person implicitly, so there will be no arguments about taking her into our confidences."

Miranda looked like she wanted to comment on the command, but instead she just gave Kalissa a tight smile and then returned to her work as the Commander left the room and headed up to the CIC deck.

Once she arrived, Kalissa quickly had EDI open a channel to Joker and let him know their destination. As the pilot began the procedures necessary to leave the Citadel, Kalissa headed into the _Normandy's_ lab to see what Mordin was up to.

Whatever it was, he stopped as soon as she entered the lab. "Ah, Shepard, wanted to see you!"

"What's up, Mordin?" she asked, walking over to his side as she did so.

The salarian grinned at her, sounding quite excited as he replied, "Have been examining data while tests run. Found interesting correlation. _May_ be able to predict next attack."

"Next attack? You mean, when the collectors will…?" Kalissa let the sentence trail off because she could tell that she'd guessed right by the way Mordin was bobbing his head up and down.

"Yes! Exactly! Pattern not obvious, had to compensate for searching time, travel, possible route variance. Difficult. No impossible, though," the doctor explained rapidly and Kalissa got the feeling that he'd walk her through the whole process if she wanted him to.

She didn't, though, so she quickly replied, "I'll take your word for it, Mordin. Just give me the where and when."

The salarian made a humming noise and then said, "Where, uncertain. Have narrowed possibilities to several colonies. When easier. Approximately two months after last attack. Seven weeks now."

"Two months?" Kalissa echoed, treating Mordin to a confused look as she added, "Just how often are the abductions?"

The doctor motioned her over and pulled up the data on his computer screen for her to examine. When she did so, Kalissa was surprised to see that the abduction were indeed spread out in near bi-monthly intervals, which made sense now that she thought about it. There weren't _that_ many colonies in the Terminus Systems and Cerberus had taken well over a year to bring her back. If colonies were being taken every couple of days, they would've taken much quicker action. It did raise a question, though. "What in the world are they doing with the colonist that they're taking them so infrequently?"

"Impossible to say," Mordin replied thoughtfully. "No data. No theories. Only assumptions and assumptions…"

"…are destructive to the logical faculty, right?" Kalissa finished for him and then realized that it was highly unlikely that Mordin would know the quote. Instead of waiting for him to ask, she just gave him a sheepish smile and said, "Sorry, that's a quote from a book that I liked as a kid. I forgot that you wouldn't know it."

"Human favorite?" Mordin inquired curiously and Kalissa felt herself flushing as she admitted, "No, not really. It _is_ considered a classic, but most people don't read the classics these days."

Before Mordin could pry further into her rather unusual childhood, Kalissa moved the conversation along with a quick question of, "Anyway, when do you think you'll know what colony is being targeted?"

The salarian considered this for a moment and then said, "Depends. Much work to do. Collector protection priority, yes?"

"Yes," Kalissa agreed. "It won't do us much good if we know where they're going to hit, but don't have any way to protect ourselves."

Mordin nodded. "Two weeks then. Might be less. Might be more. No promises."

It was the best new Kalissa had heard all day. After she'd thanked the doctor for his hard work and left him to his studies, she finally headed off to her cabin where her bed was waiting. She wanted to be well rested when they got to Illium and started on their hunt for the mysterious Thane Krios.

* * *

So, I'd love to hear opinions as to who you want to get together. Was Garrus' slip-up just a slip up, or should he get with Tali? When I finally get around to adding Kolyat, should he get a crush on the younger sister of a certain Cerberus operative?

Let me know!

As always, reviews are much loved!


	11. Party Plans And Justicars

The _Normandy_ arrived at Illium the following afternoon and Kalissa found herself faced with an interesting predicament: almost every member of her team was unfit for this mission in one way or another. Garrus was stuck in the medbay for at least another day according to Dr. Chakwas; taking Miranda with her right after their argument would be foolish; Mordin was too busy with his research to go wandering around the city; Jacob was both Cerberus and an unknown, so she didn't feel comfortable taking him to meet Liara, either; Zaeed, well, she'd had a long talk with the mercenary over breakfast and if she had to hear another one of his stories, she was going to shoot the man. That left her with only one option: Kasumi.

Thus it was that she left the _Normandy_ and stepped out into the sprawling metropolis of Nos Astra, Illium's capital, with a cloaked thief at her side.

"Towers, traffic, lights, and asari everywhere you look," Kasumi marveled at they walked away from the ship. Then her tone turned harsh as she added, "I lived here for a while, but everybody's so tight ass. It's all about money and power to these people."

"You alright," Kalissa asked worriedly, but Kasumi just shrugged off the question with an amused, "I'm fine, Shep."

Shep again. That was the third time Kasumi had used that nickname and Kalissa had to ask, "Are you going to keep calling me that?"

"I think it suits you," the thief explained. Then her voice took on a curious tone as she added, "Why, does it bother you?"

"From anyone else, maybe, but from the woman who installed a bar on my ship? Not really," Kalissa admitted after a moment's pause.

The thief's only reply was quiet laughter that faded to silence as an unfamiliar asari and two LOKI mechs approached them.

Kalissa's immediate inclination was to use her biotics to throw the mechs over the railing of the docking bay. She kept that instinct in check as the asari, whose name was apparent Careena, welcomed them to Nos Astra and informed them that Liara T'Soni had paid all docking and administration fees.

The fact that Liara knew of their arrival was unsurprising, especially since Kalissa had sent her asari friend a brief message that morning informing her of their travel plans. That didn't negate the Commander's surprise that Liara had paid all of their fees. Nos Astra was not a cheap city. Just how well was the former archeologist doing for herself?

Well, those questions would be answered soon enough.

After a quick glance at the spot where she assumed Kasumi was still hiding, Kalissa asked Careena for instructions to Liara's offices and then headed off into the city proper.

* * *

When she stepped out of the docking station and onto the streets of Nos Astra, Kalissa had to pause for a moment and just breathe as she took in the view of the first, real sky she'd seen since before her death.

It was late in the afternoon and so the sun was already starting to sink out of view, the downside of having so many towering spires. Or maybe it was the upside. Kalissa had the feeling that sunset would paint this city in shades of amber in pink for hours to come.

"It really is beautiful, isn't it?" she whispered, knowing full well that Kasumi would be close enough to hear.

That belief was confirmed when the thief replied, "Yeah, in the same way that a viper's beautiful right before it strikes."

The sentiment made Kalissa start and she wondered just what had happened to Kasumi. It wasn't her place to pry, though, so she just sighed and said, "Come on, Liara's probably waiting for us," before starting to walk towards the nearest transport station with Kasumi hot on her heels.

* * *

It didn't take very long for them to get to Liara's and, upon their arrival, the information broker's secretary immediately showed them to her employer's office.

When she saw who'd come to visit, Liara's face broke out in a wide smile and she told her secretary to hold all calls before rushing forward and wrapping her arms around Kalissa's neck in a tight hug as she said, "My sources said your were alive, but I didn't believe it until I got your message."

It was weird to hear Liara talking about sources, but all that Kalissa said in reply was, "It's good to see you, Liara."

By the time that the two of them broke apart, the secretary had left and Kasumi had decloaked. Liara didn't seem surprised to see the thief, though, and she casually exchanged a formal greeting with the other woman before asking both Kalissa and her companion to have a seat.

Once all three of them were situated in their respective chairs, Liara said, "As happy as I am that you're here, I doubt that you came to Illium just to see me given the nature of your mission."

That comment had Kalissa raising an eyebrow in surprise, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to know how Liara knew, so she didn't ask. Instead, she simply explained the nature of their trip to Illium and the reason they'd come to Liara for help.

When she finished, the asari sighed thoughtfully and then began to quickly browse through files on her computer. After a minute or so, she smiled and said, "I thought so" before turning back to look at her visitors.

"There have been rumors of a drell or drells unknown removing some of the least savory individuals on Illium for the past two years, but nothing more than that. If they've all been your Sere Krios, then he's good. Very good."

This was better than Kalissa had expected and she found herself leaning forward as she asked, "Any idea where he is now?"

Her excitement only grew when Liara replied, "As far as I can tell, he's still on the planet."

Kalissa couldn't let her excitement get the better of her, though, so she remained calm as she questioned Liara about the accuracy of her information.

The asari's response was an amused smile and the words, "That's the thing about Illium, once your here, disappearing is easy, but it's hard to leave unnoticed."

And there was the downside. "So we know he's here, but we don't know where he is or who he's after, right?"

Liara nodded and then a sudden gleam entered her eyes. A few quick swipes on her computer later, she told them that, "There's a party being thrown in two weeks' time by a man named Donovan Hock. If your assassin's going after another unsavory target, there's a good chance that he'll be at that party, too."

This statement didn't make any sense to Kalissa and all that she could think to ask was, "Why?"

Kasumi had been silent during this entire exchange, but now she spoke up. "The security will be increased, but that doesn't mean that the party goers aren't easy targets. There's only so much you can do to protect that many VIPs without ruining the party."

There was a hard edge to the thief's voice as she said these words and Kalissa couldn't stop herself from turning to look at Kasumi and saying, "Are you okay?"

The thief shrugged and Kalissa could see her hands tightening into fists as she admitted, "Hock he… let's just say that I hope he's your assassin's target."

There was no way that Kalissa was letting _that_ statement go by uncommented upon, but she did her best to keep the curiosity from her voice when she asked, "What did he do?"

Kasumi didn't reply, she just tightened her fists and kept staring at the floor. She didn't need to explain, though. Liara did that for her. "Killed her partner, apparently."

That announcement had both Kasumi and Kalissa staring at the asari, one with amber eyes full of rage and the other with shocked, sea-green ones.

"Oh, I don't get me wrong, I don't know for sure. I don't even know you're name. I'm just putting together the puzzle pieces," Liara explained evenly, which was quite a feat given the way Kasumi was glaring at her.

Kalissa was equally impressed that the thief's follow up question of, "Puzzle pieces?" was spoken in something other than a growl.

Liara nodded and then pulled up a file on her computer. Several seconds later, she began to summarize its content for them. "Hock's people killed a man named Keiji Okuda several months ago in order to obtain an item in that man's possession. Mr. Okuda was rumored to have a partner that escaped the incident unscathed."

Her summery finished, Liara closed the file and then turned to look at Kasumi as she continued on, saying, "Given your reaction to the mention of Mr. Hock's name, I assumed that there might be a connection. Was I wrong?"

"No…" Kasumi admitted. Then she sighed and added, "I can see how you got to be so powerful so quickly, Ms. T'Soni."

"It's Dr. T'Soni, actually," Liara quickly replied. Then she smiled softly and said, "but you can just call me Liara."

Kasumi nodded as silence fell in the spacious office. Then Liara cleared her throat and speculated, "I should probably mention that the item Mr. Hock stole is currently being held in his mansion on Illium. I'd imagine that it would be quite easy for a master thief to get his, or _her_, hands on it during a party where the security staff is busy watching over the guests."

Kasumi's hands instantly unclenched and her amber eyes met Liara's blue ones as she softly agreed, "Yes, I imagine that it would be. Especially if he, or _she_, had blueprints of the mansion to study beforehand."

"Indeed," Liara replied evenly. "It just so happens that such blueprints would be easy for me to acquire, should I want them."

Kasumi was grinning now. "How long is the guest list for this party?"

"Extensive, I'm told, and I'm sure that someone's going to be unable to attend. They always are," Liara answered as a matching grin spread across her pale, blue lips.

A grin that turned positively wicked when Kasumi replied, "I'd imagine that a talented hacker could easily get into their systems and change those names. If he, or _she_, wanted to."

By now Kalissa had realized that this was one of those times when it was best for her to just leave everything to her team. That decision made, she cleared her throat and asked, "What, if anything, do you need from me? Because I'm quite happy to just sit back and let you two do all the planning for once."

The asari and the thief exchanged quick glances in a silent conversation that Kalissa couldn't hope to follow. When it was over, Liara looked at Kalissa and said, "We don't need anything but you measurements right now and we'll let you know if that changes. I do have something that might keep you busy, though."

"Oh?" Kalissa inquired, curious what Liara had in mind.

That curiosity only grew strong when the asari asked, "Have you ever heard of a justicar?"

"Only in passing," the Commander admitted. "Aren't they like the asari's version of samurai? Warriors who dedicate their lives to some code?"

"Yes, exactly," Liara agreed. "They rarely leave asari space, but one of them recently came to Illium."

"Wait, they're real?" Kalissa exclaimed. "I thought that they were myths or ancient history!"

"Not at all," Liara replied, sounding amused at Kalissa's ignorance and the Commander could hear Kasumi snickering at her side.

Realizing that she probably needed to explain her assumptions, Kalissa crossed her arms over her chest and asked, "Then why are their justicar comic books?"

"Because asari culture is very different from human culture in some ways, Shepard," the former archeologist explained before adding, "And a justicar would be a powerful ally against the collectors. Their biotic abilities are unparalleled."

"A biotic, huh?" Kalissa murmured as a slow smile spread across her face. A biotic would certainly be useful, but then her smile vanished as a thought struck her. "Aren't justicars big on honor and righteousness? I have a feeling that she'd be compelled to take out at least half of my crew."

"Not necessarily. Justicars can act against their code if they swear oaths of loyalty to a person, but that isn't common," Liara explained. "Still, it might be worth talking to her if you don't have anything else to do between now and the party."

Kalissa couldn't argue with that logic, so she asked Liara to forward her all of the information that she had on the justicar. Then the Commander rose to her feet and bid her two teammates adieu, but not before saying, "I have every confidence in you two. I couldn't think of a better team to plan this."

The other women gracefully accepted the compliment and then Liara inquired if Kalissa would like an escort back to the _Normandy_.

The Commander was inclined to say no, but then she remembered the warning that Garrus had given her before she left the ship. "We were always told that Illium is one of the safest places in the galaxy—until you fell of the grid. Sign the wrong contract, join the wrong company, or go down the wrong alley and it's just as dangerous as anywhere else."

She took the escort.

* * *

What, we're changing Thane's recruitment mission? Of course we are! It's more fun that way!

Reviews are much loved!


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